Home Movie

 

Home Movie 2008

• Director: Christopher Denham
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Adrian Pasdar, Cady McLain, Austin Williams, Amber Joy Williams
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• None of them
• Why? Might be fun
• Seen: 11 July 2024 

Happy family in rural Connecticut. Dad David (Pasdar)) is a Luthern pastor and loves taking home movies. Mom Clare (McLain), a psychiatrist, goes along with it good-naturedly. The twins Jack (A. Austin) and Emily (A.J.Austin) respond sullenly to their loving parents’ enthusiasm. Sullenly, then rebelliously, then violently.

It’s creepily effective for an hour or so but then it turns sadistic with no point or reason. The film is short so they could have developed it into something. As it is, it feels unfinished. 

2½ * of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rose

 

Rose 2022

• Director: Niels Arden Oplev
• Seen by this director: Ser du månen Daniel, Män som hatar kvinnor
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Sofie Gråböl, Lena Maria Christensen, Anders W Berthelsen, Sören Malling, Luca Ben Reichardt Coker
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Sofie Gråböl – Fortitude
• Anders W Berthelsen – Ser du månen Daniel
• Sören Malling – Drottning Margaretha, Kriget
• Why? Good reviews
• Seen: 10 July 2024  

Inger (Gråböl) is hospitalised for schizophrenia. Her sister Ellen (Christensen) and brother-in-law Vagn (Berthelsen) take her with them on a coach trip to Paris where she lived and was happy until her lover left her and she fell ill.

Inger is often frightened and says inappropriate things. One of the other passengers   (Malling) says cruel things about her and demands that she be put off the coach, but his young son Christian (Coker) befriends her.

It has beautiful scenes from Giverny and the Normandy beaches. It is filled with despair, humour, heartbreak, friendship, fear and love. It is one of the most emotional films I’ve seen. 

5* of 5

 

 

 

Schindler's List

 

Schindler’s List 1993

• Director: Stephen Spielberg
• Seen by this director: many
• Based on the book by Thomas Keneally
• Cast: Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• All of them – many 
• Why? Good film.
• Seen:  Once before. Now 9 July 20245 July 2024 

How Israel can wage genocide against Gaza after what was done to the Jews in WWII is unfathomable. If this film were about a modern Schindler helping Palestinians and if the Israeli warmongers (far from all of them are), maybe they would see what they are doing and stop the killing.

But now I will watch the film.

So. Current events of 2024 notwithstanding, or maybe even more so because of them, it’s a strong film. Not perfect but very strong. If you haven’t seen it, see it. 

4½ * of 5

 

 

 

Dark Water

Dark Water 2005

• Director: Walter Salles
• Seen by this director: Paris je t’aime, The Motorcycle Diaries
• Based on the book by Koji Suzuki
• Cast: Jennifer Connelly, Ariel Gade, John C Reilly, Tim Roth, Dougray Scott, Pete Postlethwaite
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Jennifer Connelly – many 
• John C Reilley – many
• Tim Roth – many including Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
• Pete Postlethwaite – many including Romeo and Juliet
• Why? The cast
• Seen: 8 July 2024  

Dahlia (Connelly) is in the middle of a nasty divorce. She moves with her little girl Ceci (Gade) into a slummy apartment. There are problems, leaks, troublesome neighbours, ghosts.

It’s a scary movie so it gets scary, but it also very sad. Dahlia is haunted by a traumatic childhood and she has serious economic problems. Her lawyer (Roth) pretends to have a family but is alone and lonely.

The cast is terrific. It’s definitely a cut above most so-called scary films I’ve seen. 

3½ * of 5

 

  

Entre les mur (The Class)

 

The Class – Entres les murs 2008

• Director: Laurebt Cantet
• Based on the book by Francois Bégaudeau
• Cast: Francois Bégaudeaud and many brilliant amatuers playing themselves
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• None of them
• Why? The subject and the awards
• Seen: 6 July 2024 

Not quite a documentary, more a re-enacting of Bégaudeau’s book about his time as a French teacher of an eighth grade class in a Parisian suburb. Most of the kids are immigrants or second generation. They’re cheeky, mouthy, funny, resentful, smart. Francois is not a very good teacher, and he’s is very courageous to show this so sincerely and honestly. He’s not afraid to show that he is wrong and makes serious mistakes.

The insight into the French school system is dismaying. Punishment, not praise or encouragement. Saying ’tu’ instead of ’vous’ is a serious infraction (a ridiculous notion to us teachers in Sweden). Respect, lack of respect, meaningless French grammar, struggling to get the kids to express themselves in writing.

It’s not an easy film to watch, but it’s worth the awards. 

4 * of 5

 

Escape from Sobibar

 

Escape from Sobibar 1987

• Director: Jack Gold
• Seen by this director: The Merchant of Venice
• Based on the book by Richard Rashke
• Cast: Alan Arkin, Joanna Pakula, Rutger Hauer, Jack Shepherd
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Alan Arkin – many 
• Rutger Hauer – Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, Batman Begins, Bladerunner
• Jack Shepherd – The Politician’s Husband, The Golden Compass, Tristram Shandy, The Other Boleyn Girl
• Why? The subject
• Seen:  5 July 2024  

There’s something about some films from the 80s that seem so false and contrived, especially those with such serious subjects as this one. True story, or at least based on an historical event, the escape in 1943 from the death camp Sobibor in eastern Poland.

It’s so obviously a gang of actors speaking lines of stilted, unrealistic dialog. They’re all well-fed, clean and healthy. Instead of doom and danger it has an air of Hogan’s Heroes about it. No doubt unintentional but nevertheless.

It’s a worthy subject, a laudable attempt. It shows an aspect of the Holocaust that I hadn’t known about. If you can endure the amateurish productions, bad acting and glossy Hollywood romantics, it’s worth seeing. 

2 ½ * of 5

 

The Edge of Heaven

 

The Edge of Heaven

• Director: Fatih Aken
• Seen by this director: Head On
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Baki Davrak, Tuncel Kurtiz, Nursel Köser, Nurgül Yesilcay, Patrycia Ziolowska, Hannah Schygulla
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Hannah Schygulla – Dead Again
• Why? It sounded good.
• Seen: 3 July 2024      

       Nejat (Davrak) is in Istanbul looking for Ayten (Yesilcay), daughter of his father Ali’s (Kurtiz) dead companion Yeter (Köse). Ayten is in Bremen looking for her mother Yeter. Ayten meets Lotte (Ziolkowska) and they become lovers. Ayten is deported back to Turkey and imprisoned for political activities. Lotte goes to Istanbul to look for her. Lotte’s mother (Schygulla) goes to Istanbul to look for Lotte and meets Nejat.

       Their paths all cross, or don’t cross.

       The film has great potential and it has won many awards. The acting is very good but it’s too contrived to be completely credible. 

3½ * of 5.