Holy moly, this was a cracker of a film. Not to be watched by anyone who wants an easy ride – take this as a warning. Directed by Michael Haneke, who makes challenging films like The White Ribbon and Caché, The Piano Teacher also has powerhouse performances, themes that make you decidedly uncomfortable and no neat resolution. With all of the Haneke films I have seen so far, as the end credits roll there is a moment of incredulity and exasperation but then the characters and subtext worm their way into your brain and refuse to leave. Continue reading
Tag Archives: France
In the Shadow of Women (L’ombre des femmes) (2015)
StandardOr why sometimes it is better to cut and run. Pierre and Manon are married. They are documentarians who struggle to make ends meet. Pierre is silent and dour, Manon sparkles and pleases. Pierre meets a younger women, Elizabeth, and begins an affair. One day Elizabeth spies Manon in the arms of another man and must decide if she should tell Pierre. Continue reading
Don’t Tell Me the Boy Was Mad (Une histoire de fou) (2015)
StandardA somewhat trivial title for a film grounded in long-held sorrow. The original title, Une Histoire de Fou gives perhaps a more meaningful name – A History of Madness. This is a French film but it is about Armenia and the repercussions of the massacre of more than one million Armenians by the Ottoman government during and after the first World War. You may be like me and several French characters in the movie to say, “Where’s Armenia?”. How could I not know about this part of history? Continue reading
Love (2015)
StandardI still have the Satie music from this film in my head. This is a French film by Argentinian director Gaspar Noé and it was only on the way home that I realised Love really reminded me of Irreversible. A quick IMDb search and it turns out that was a Noé film too. If anyone reading this has seen Irreversible, you’ll know that Noé is a director who is fearless in his approach. The mood of this film was similar and the technique of beginning at the end, but where Irreversible was a harrowing look at the things we can’t change, Love approaches a similar theme in quite a different way. Continue reading
Being 14 (2015)
StandardI really enjoyed this French drama that follows three 14 year old girls, Sarah, Louise and Jade, through a year where they fall in and out of friendship, fight with parents and teachers and try to find their way. Continue reading
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