Better Than The Killing!
Whoa!! This Belgian show (2016), starring Joann Blanc, will knock your socks off.
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Apparently, It's Make Incorrect Assumptions about Foreign Films Week
I thought this was going to be a colder version of The Impossible (2012) and sadly had procrastinated in watching it, but the avalanche (clearly there is no need to raise a spoiler alert) is merely a prop to the action—or lack thereof. The pace is glacial and the mood is tense, and it's not coz you're waiting for another avalanche. This film is about relationship, and I mean that discretely from relationships, because that would have been to easy. Director Ruben Ostlund (2014) is picking at scabs and discomfiting the viewer, yet we're paralyzed with fascination at our own image. He also does very interesting things with music (not just the Vivaldi), and equally with silence, both aural and visual. The Force Majeure here is definitely not made of snow. Shout out to Ingrid Eng for the excellent subtitles.
Icelandic Gems
This looked like some funny-townsfolk comedy and imdb classifies it as a tragicomedy, but there is precious little to laugh about in Rams (2015, directed by Grímur Hákonarson ). This movie is tough going but gorgeous both visually and spiritually. Slow pace and understated performances. No spoilers. The only funny thing is that not only is the dog but the principal sheep are credited by name at the end! Awww. An excellent TV series is Trapped (2015), a very tight police and family drama, which I won't spoil either. There are twists and turns you won't see coming, but they're all done with that Northern kind of sensibility. Subtle performances that don't need to call attention to themselves to affect. Loved it.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
I could have sworn I reviewed this but I can't find it here or on Beautiful Feet 1.0... Stumbled upon it and as soon as I saw and heard the E-S-A-R-I-N-T-U-L..., I remembered this wonderful film and watched it all again. Beautiful on so many levels. I appreciated it more this time, now that I knew more about director (2017) Julian Schnabel's work(s). An absolutely heartbreaking and at the same time inspiring movie about the true mid-life trauma suffered by Jean Dominique Bauby, chief editor of Elle magazine in France in the 90s. Excellent performances by all, including Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Anne Consigny and (2013) Les Beaux Jours ' Patrick Chenais (who I know I reviewed but can't locate that post either. Grr.). After the movie, I read some background of the events from his children's points of view, which was interesting but should not be investigated til after viewing. One amateur reviewer described it as "cerebral," which I gue...
Cirque Éloize at CanStage
Fresh, humorous, creative, artistic and way more engaging than Cirque du Soleil, which seems a little OTT now. Artistry and strength and guts. Really excellent entertainment! ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & CO-DIRECTOR Jeannot Painchaud CO-DIRECTOR & CHOREOGRAPHER Dave St-Pierre SET DESIGNER, ILLUSTRATOR, VIDEO PROJECTIONS DESIGNER Robert Massicotte COMPOSER Stéfan Boucher ACROBATIC DESIGNER OF BANQUINE & TEETERBOARD ACTS & HEAD COACH Krzysztof Soroczynski LIGHTING DESIGNER Nicolas Descoteaux COSTUME DESIGNER Liz Vandal VIDEO PROJECTIONS CO-DESIGNER Alexis Laurence PHOTO Patrick Lazic