Two movies to watch
I watch a lot of movies and most of them are entertaining enough (Shrek 3, Knocked Up). However, there have been two excellent films in the past month that deserves mention...
La Vie en Rose: a biopic of the French diva Edith Piaf. Sort of a surreal piece that smashes the traditional Hollywood chronological plot points of "drama-humor-characterization-drama" to bits. The camera whirls like a tempest around Marion Cotillard (a veritable hottie in real life) as she takes on the dark, funny, loony, frail, talented and ultimately tragic character of "The Little Sparrow". I had no idea who Edith Piaf was until I saw on the silver screen, but her story – raised in a brothel, blind and deaf for years during childhood, hustling as a street singer on the streets of Bellevue, rising to fame on her clear, strong and inspirational voice, and crashing down on bitter relationships, addictions to morphine and broken health – her story was mesmerizing. The direction was decent, although somewhat jumbled. But go see this movie – it's well worth the admission just to see Coitllard's evolution from a twentysomething rebellious teen into a hobbled frail celebrity – a remarkable feat that sidesteps mimicry in favor of total transformation.
A Mighty Heart: See it see it see it. Go see it. It's cathartic. It's wrenching. It's inspiring. And yeah, Angelina Jolie is hot -- and talented enough – to make you forget that she's splashed all over E! News. Everyone knows the horrible circumstances surrounding the capture and eventual grisly execution of Daniel Pearl, a WSJ reporter, by Islamist terrorists. The movie, however, dances masterfully around the newswire bulletpoints and succeeds in illuminating the unshakeable human spirit found in Daniel's wife, Marianne (played by Ms. Jolie), and her jumbled multi-ethnic heap of volunteers as they try to locate her husband and diffuse the situation.
It's in the camera work -- the close ups so close that you can the bumps of Marianne's sternum as she howls in pain contrasted with the wide angled split-second captures of Karachi's slums -- that heightens the film's power. It's in the pacing -- director Michael Winterbottom's cut between flashbacks, Daniel's story and Marianne's increasing panic -- that stretches the plot tension to the point of frenzy. And it's the movie's sincerity for the naked truth -- that evil exists in shades of grey, and moreover, so does goodness -- that takes your breath away.
Jolie deserves all the accolades for her performance, and notably, every scene where the esteemed Irfan Khan appears is a joy.
Is LVER subtitled?
My dad enjoyed your BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY suggestion. I tried to watch it but fell asleep at the end (not saying it's bad; I was really tired!).
Posted by: c.h.ha | July 10, 2007 at 08:47 PM
Yes - La Vie en Rose is subtitled so it takes a little use to reading the little text line running at the bottom.. but if you like jazz cabaret music it's worth it!
Posted by: j.fisher | July 11, 2007 at 08:21 AM