Los abrazos rotos (2009)

In Pedro Almodóvar's Broken Embraces we get a view of regret years after a tragic incident. In this case we follow a director who had an affair and where his lover is killed.

As he has in the past, the Spanish writer/director depicts characters with diminished physical or mental abilities. I think this puts enough distance between the viewer and the characters so that we can more objectively appreciate the internal struggles. But this one felt just a bit too distant as the characters were just that much more selfish.

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Revanche (2008)

This Austrian film takes a look at entitlement through the lenses of a thief and a childless mother. The two stories converge on one event where a police officer kills the theif's girlfriend as they flee a crime; the officer's wife has no kids. The thief retreats to the country to help his grandfather with preparations for the winter. While he's there, he plots his revenge on the officer.

I had trouble empathizing with any of the characters except the officer and the grandfather as they seemed to exhibit the most natural types of emotions. The others thought they deserved more than what life had dealt them. The film has a wonderful ending though and the pace is enjoyable.

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The Life of David Gale (2003)

This crime thriller evokes the many 1980s and 1990s classic plot twist films. That isn't to say that it is any less clever than its precursors, but it does use a well-used mechanic with its audience.

David Gale (Kevin Spacey) is on death row for a murder of a colleague. Ironically, both he and his colleague were unpopular advocates against capital punishment. A reporter (Kate Winslet) is called in to interview the prisoner just days prior to the execution. She begins to unravel the real story, but will she unravel it in time to save David's life or not?

The film presents four distinct culture clashes: midwestern vs. university vs. press vs. prison. This helps the viewer see the topic of capital punishment from varying perspectives and does a fair job of fleshing out the debate.

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Barney's Version (2010)

Mordecai Richler's semi-autobiographical book is performed by Paul Giamatti and some lovely ladies. The story tells of Barney, a TV producer in Montreal, the women of his life and how he loses them. He is riddled with faults and still draws a lot of empathy because of his fierce love and honest confessions.

I enjoyed this quite a bit, mostly due to the emphasis on character, but also for the rich dialogues throughout.

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Festen (1998)

The Celebration is a cross between Monsoon Wedding and Gosford Park with some Noah Baumbach and Lars Von Trier thrown in. The setting is a Danish country mansion where family and friends have gathered to celebrate the 60th birthday of Helge - a successful restauranteur and freemason. We learn quickly of the family's disfunction and several sparks have already flown by the time the real fuse is lit at supper.

Perhaps the most remarkable touch of the film makers is their ability to infuse such brilliant humour in such a dark film. Humour and resilient humanity.

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L'emploi du temps (2001)

Vincent was fired from his job in the finance sector a few months ago, but he still hasn't told his wife. Instead, he departs on lonely "business" trips and returns with lies for his wife, children, parents and friends. The lies become elaborate and rehearsed. He begins extorting his friends and family as a means of maintaining his illusion.

Time Out is a brilliant depiction of the emasculation that has taken hold in the west. Men are no longer men, they are tools in an economy devoid of meaning.

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127 Hours (2010)

Danny Boyle and James Franco tell the gutwrenching tale of an outdoorsman who is trapped with no prospect of rescue in the remote wilds of Utah. It is a formidable film and the final sequences are stellar!

The film lovingly captures the sacredness of life.

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Cyrus (2010)

Cyrus is a momma's boy - home-schooled by his single mom and very coddled. When his mom starts to date, Cyrus becomes quite possessive and subversively sabotages this threatening relationship.

There is some fantastic acting here, just really sincere characters. The story is comedic, but carries enough sentiment to give it a little bit of a lingering reflective quality.

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Maelström (2000)

Part Norweigian myth, part generational commentary, and part romance, Québec filmmaker Denis Villeneuve recounts the downward spiral of a woman's life and what it takes to bring her back to life. The luminous resurrection of a woman who has lost all hope is inspiring. As a film, it is life affirming.

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Get Low (2009)

What a pleasing film experience is Get Low! Robert Duvall and Bill Murray give tremendous performances, fleshing out a glorious and tragic story.

Felix Bush, a fearsome hermit, seeks the assistance of a funeral parlour in order to throw a funeral party for himself while he is still alive. The reason for the odd request is sought out and the film concludes with an emotional hush.

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Prestuplenie i nakazanie (1970)

This Russian adaptation of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment paces itself like the book, taking ample time inside protagonist Rodya Raskolnikov's head. It is done in black and white and the lack of colour adds the only other real joyless feature to the film beyond the glorious performances by the actors - who are unknown to the west.

Raskolnikov is pained by the conflict of his philosophical conclusion, that great men can accomplish whatever they like and should live without guilt and with impunity by virtue of the fact that they are great! He can not justify his philosophy because in his mind he himself is greater than his ignorant peers, but he and his mother and sister live in abject poverty. He decides to live out his philosophy by murdering a pawn broker, someone he views as a leech of society. The story plays out from here demonstrating his struggle to mute his conscience.

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Paris, Texas (1984)

Wim Wenders offering of a man facing his past regrets. Slow moving, but ultimately redemptive.

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Il y a longtemps que je t'aime (2008)

I've Loved You So Long is a gorgeous film from France. It tackles some difficult issues, but very graciously and from a character's perspective.

A younger sister, Léa, invites her older sister, Juliette, to live with her and her family when she is released from prison after a long sentence. Juliette is not easy to love and behaves selfishly, but Léa persists.

Special credit goes to Kristin Scott Thomas who holds her own in this French speaking role and who evokes complex sympathy.

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L'ultimo bacio (2001)

This Italian film takes a post-modern view of marriage, commitment, and love.

Carlo has just impregnated his long time girlfriend and they are considering buying a house together. His chums are going through interpersonal episodes too - getting married, a new baby and conflict with wife, pining over a lost girlfriend, and itching to get out of the family business. Things come to a fever pitch for Carlo when he's faced with the coming responsibilities or enjoying unattached sex with a flirtatious teen.

The film is intricate and engaging as the story weaves in and out between this mass of connected lives. The actors are also great as spoiled Italian late-20s brats.

I was surprised by the ending as it is different from the American version starring Zach Braff.

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A Passage to India (1984)

This epic film tells the story of a colonized India that is nearly ready to revolt the the personal story of some Brit ex-pats and local nationals.

Adela travels to the interior of India to become engaged to a British city magistrate. She befriends an Indian professor who is so smitten by the fact that a white woman would take the time to befriend him that he decides to extend incredible hospitality to her. He invites her on a trip to see a set of caves. The result is catastrophic and the entire empire goes on trial.

It helps that the film is based on a thick novel giving it incredible depth. Some of the events are somewhat difficult to piece together, but the thread holding the film intact is the parallel of one people's subjugation of another and the one thing that can mend the brokenness.

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Rachel Getting Married (2008)

Master director Jonathan Demme captures family dynamics and the egocentricity of the addict/victim beautifully here.

Rachel is getting married and the family is uniting for the affair and while people have been preparing for months, her sister Kym swoops in on a weekend pass from rehab. Kym proceeds to dominate the wedding with her need to play the victim. She also draws out her parents failures.

The film is shot with long scenes and single cameras forcing you to be a part of the drama. The acting is as realistic as you think it could be and the actors are refreshingly not the typical Hollywood glam. Exquisitely executed!

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Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (2008)

Since Polanski has returned to the spotlight in the recent efforts of extradition from Switzerland to face his criminal charges in the United States, I thought it was time to watch this documentary about the crime in question.

The film tracks Roman Polanski's life from start in World War II Poland through to his current work as a director. What is clear is that Mr. Polanski has led a tortured life with his near death experiences in the war, the murder of his wife and then being faced with imprisonment for statutory rape. Despite all of this, Polanski is able to create potent Oscar winning films.

The meat of the film is a look at the trial after Polanski was arrested for having sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl in 1977. The trial judge is portrayed as fame hungry and as a result inept.

Certainly the issue is not resolved is California still wishes to sentence Polanski.

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Ghost Town (2008)

A typical romantic comedy (think Just Like Heaven or Scrooged), but with very little pretension which was nice.

Bertram the British dentist in America doesn't like people at all. After undergoing surgery, he discovers that he can see ghosts. The ghosts all have unfinished business that they need help with and Bertram is their portal into the living world. He's not at all interested in helping them, but when one of the ghost jobs needing his attention involves an attractive single woman, he plays along.

I expected little from this film as the plot seemed so contrived, but the plot didn't much interfere with some of the really hilarious scenes that Ricky Gervais nails.

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Deliver Us from Evil (2006)

This film was rightly nominated for an Academy Award. It is extraordinary rendition of a horrific subject.

The film personalizes what has become a very large statistic in the United States (and elsewhere) - Catholic clergy sexual abuse of children. What is unique is that this true story is told from the perspectives of victims, their parents, bishops, police, and the perpetrator himself, Father Ollie.

You will not watch this film unaffected and you will not emerge without very strong feelings against the institution of the Catholic Church and the current pope.

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The Informant! (2009)

Steven Soderbergh dishes out an entertaining view of the midwest with the true story of an FBI informant who turns rogue.

Mark Whitacre knows that his massive corporation is price fixing, so he turns to the Bureau to do what is right. What follows is an incredible 2 year operation with the FBI where Mark collects evidence. Ultimately, Mark's character makes the film. Matt Damon delivers him as no one special, just an enigmatic Dudley Do Right with a big problem: lying.

The film is stylized to bring us back to the early 90's (and in the midwest, it still looked like the 80's). Between scenes, Damon's character narrates the film with some insights into how he would spend money or what he finds interesting on TV or what he thinks is remarkable trivia. This gives us a sense as to what the American Dream has become.

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