Change Your Image
flickadill
Reviews
Le temps de l'aventure (2013)
Drawn to Love
What pulls us to another human being, to share all the intimacies of touch, pain, and desires? And if we are drawn to someone else, what would it feel like to just follow that desire and allow ourselves to yield, without resistance? There are times in our lives when we just want someone to care for us and hold us. Alix and Douglas are inexplicably drawn to each other, during a time for each of them that is especially lonely and difficult. Though it appears out of character for both of them, they embrace the attraction. The emotions in this lovely film are deeply felt and communicated. Alix is feeling particularly unmoored due to the failure of everyday technology, which contributes to a confusing distance from her boyfriend. Doug is experiencing the loss of love and innocence. It seems magical that they are able to find each other, comfort each other, and give each other just a bit of strength to return to their lives. Others have said there are no great morals or lessons in this movie. I think this is a movie that shows perfectly the impact we can have on another human being, if we take the chance to see each other as creatures in need of love.
A Short History of Decay (2014)
Lyrical
I really enjoyed the tempo and pacing of this movie. Felt like a dance all the way through. Parents and kids revealing bits of themselves to each other, then pulling back, then being vulnerable, then teasing. All with a rhythm that felt natural to me. Not all that familiar in terms of my own family, but recognizably real. Yes, the parents are disappointed in their kids -- and they have a right to be -- but that's life. And they still love them. Yes, the parents are in the last chapter of their lives, and they know it, and they're dealing with it the best they can. One false note all the way through was the number of beautiful women available to the younger son. Oh well. It's a movie and that pays for the tickets, I know. Overall, a well told story I will recommend to family and friends.
The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)
Bland Comfort Food
Meant to excite your gastronomic and cultural senses, this movie instead is as bland as rice pudding. Not a surprise in the movie. Not a hint of character development. (The softening of tensions between main characters felt completely scripted and driven by the moviemaker, not by anything we saw in any of the characters). Too many incongruous or unbelievable details drive the thin plot: the secret to culinary brilliance is Indian spice -- add it to everything and get another star; the family is nearly impoverished in London, but draws on unseen wealth once they relocate to France; injuries heal overnight. Even the scenery, which is beautiful, is filmed in a way that diminishes it to dollhouse scale and lighting. Pleasant enough if you must watch something, but the whole time I was waiting for it to end.