Joshua Marston’s (The Forgiveness of Blood) Maria Full of Grace is one of the best foreign-language films I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, I watched this movie on the heels of another foreign language film (A Girl Walks Home At Night), which, despite the 95% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, I thought was an incredibly dull film and one I had no interest in reviewing. So I was a little uncertain about watching another subtitled movie the next day, but I am happy I gave it a fair chance. It’s a great movie that tells a heart-wrenching and believable story.
Continue reading Maria Full of Grace (2004)
Category Archives: International
The Lunchbox (2014)
“Sometimes, the wrong train will get you to the right station.” These yearning words of wisdom spoken so matter-of-factly by Ila (Nimrat Kaur – One Night With the King), a lonely yet hopeful housewife in Ritesh Batra’s directorial debut, The Lunchbox, quite simply the best movie through the first eight months of 2014. I am uncertain if this movie will be nominated for a Best Foreign Language Academy Award. I hope it will be so that more people will know about it. If it is not, I am not sure I would have ever known about it, let alone see it, if not recommended by my friend David. It further reinforces my appreciation for movie recommendations.
Continue reading The Lunchbox (2014)
Amour (2012)
Michael Haneke’s (Funny Games, Time of the Wolf) Amour might not be the most depressing movie of the year, but it is the most horrifying. The plot line could be “growing old with the one you love the most while facing life’s misery.” Instead, this movie is simply about the deterioration of a wife and what an elderly husband is able and willing to do to take care of her when she can no longer care for herself. A universal belief is that we all want to age gracefully and not impose on others. A universal truth, I know, is that this does not often happen. The idea that a husband and wife can fall in love in their 20s, live 60 years with minimal health issues, and then die in their sleep on the same night isn’t realistic, no matter how much we want it to be. In all likelihood, each spouse will rely on the help of their partner. In the end, one partner will most likely care for and make the decisions of the other. That’s what this movie shows us. And it shows us to it in an oh-so-brutal way.
Continue reading Amour (2012)
Leaving (Partir) (2010)
Subtitled movies don’t bother me as much as they used to. There used to be a day when I would only watch a subtitled film if someone forced me to watch one in one of my high school classes. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that I seek out movies with subtitles, but I no longer instantly reject them. In fact, before watching Leaving (Partir), I watched two other Kristin Scott Thomas French subtitled movies (Tell No One) e le Dis à Personne and (I’ve Loved You So Long) Il y a Longtemps que Je T’aime. I was a huge fan of I’ve Loved You So Long. I would have enjoyed Tell No One more had I been paying more attention to it. I may be willing to give it another chance one day. This brings up my next point with subtitled movies. If you hope to get anything out of a subtitled film, you’ve got to devote your 100% attention. I did that with I’ve Loved You So Long, and I did that with 2009’s Leaving as well.