There is definitely something boyish about ten-year-old Laure. She has
recently moved to a new area with her parents and her little sister,
Jeanne. It’s summertime and all the other neighbourhood children are
playing outside – only Laure is alone, for she knows nobody of her own
age. But then, one day, she meets Lisa, a girl who is exactly the same
age. Laure allows her new acquaintance to believe that she is a boy.
Laure becomes Mikaël, and, no sooner has she brought about this
‘transformation’ than she begins playing with all the other
neighbourhood children. As time passes, Laure’s relationship to Lisa
becomes increasingly close, making the ambiguity of her situation ever
more complicated.
Céline Sciamma is a proponent of a new generation
of filmmakers in France. In an interview with “Cineuropa” in August 2007
she comments: “I became a cinephile as a result of young French cinema
of the 90s: Desplechin, Lvovsky, Rochant. But I like Gus Van Sant and
Larry Clark a lot too for their work on adolescence, not to forget David
Lynch.”
Maryse and her husband are desperate to sell a backhoe sitting abandoned
in their suburban yard. Her brother, Benoit, is trapped in endless
adolescence, sharing their childhood home with their invalid father.
Benoit is enamoured with a single mom named Nathalie, and he's hoping to
finally grow up by living with her... but Nathalie's son does not
approve. A serious accident at the factory where Maryse works, a strange
series of coincidences, and the arrival of a Man claiming to come from
the future launch Maryse and Benoit on a life-changing road trip.
Following up his acclaimed feature film Continental, a film without
guns, filmmaker Stephane Lafleur once again brings us an ensemble of
compelling characters, in a story where the ordinary and the fantastic
collide. Written by Anonymous from imdb
Director: Lars von Trier
Country: Denmark
Runtime:
The film begins with an intro sequence, with a number of
semi-abstract images of the main characters as well as images from
space, showing the end of the world. Melancholia is divided into two
parts, the first being a family drama about the girl Justine (Kirsten Dunst), who is alienated from her family at her own wedding.
Part two is an apocalyptic drama
about Justine and her sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), who has to
deal with the possible end of the world, as a previously unknown
Counter-Earth planet, called Melancholia, is on collision course with
Earth.
In
part one, the young couple Justine and Michael (Alexander Skarsgård)
are getting married at a castle, but the party is far from successful,
as Justine’s divorced parents (John Hurt
and Charlotte Rampling) are openly fighting at the dinner. Justine
herself is both alienated from her sister, her new husband, her boss (Stellan Skarsgård) and her parents.
She drifts away from the party, and becomes increasingly depressed and
desperate during the night. At several occasions, she looks at a
specific star, which seems to shine brighter than normal. Claire’s
husband John (Kiefer Sutherland) says it is the star Antares, and later
in the movie the star disappears. At the end of the party, Michael leaves Justine, implying that their marriage is called off.
In part two, Justine has become severely depressed, and visits Claire
and John, who lives in the same castle with their son Leo (Cameron
Spurr). To begin with, Justine is unable to do normal everyday things
like taking a bath or eat, but becomes more self confident over time.
It has been revealed that the reason for Antares’ disappearance was due
to the planet Melancholia, which had previously been hidden behind the
sun, had moved in front of the star and blocked it from view.
At the same time, Melancholia has become visible in the sky. John, being
very keen on astronomy, is excited about the planet, and looks forward
to the so-called fly-by, as Earth and Melancholia are supposed to pass
by each other.
Claire is very fearful about the planet, and believes it is the end
of the world. On the night of the fly-by, it seems that John was right,
as Melancholia passes by Earth, and nothing happens. In the following
days, however, it turns out that Melancholia is coming back around. As
John finds out, he commits suicide by taking pills.
His dead body is found by Claire, who decides to keep it a secret. She
then talks to Justine, who is extremely cynical about the impending
doom. However, she tries to comfort Leo by building a crude shelter out
of wooden sticks. The film ends with Justine, Claire and Leo sitting
inside the shelter, as Melancholia collides with Earth.
DIRECTORS STATEMENT
It was like waking from a dream: my producer showed me a suggestion
for a poster. “What is that?” I ask. ”It’s a film you’ve made!” she
replies. ”I hope not,” I stammer. Trailers are shown ... stills ... it
looks like shit. I’m shaken.
Don’t get me wrong ... I’ve worked on the film for two years. With
great pleasure. But perhaps I’ve deceived myself. Let myself be tempted.
Not that anyone has done anything wrong ... on the contrary, everybody
has worked loyally and with talent toward the goal defined by me alone.
But when my producer presents me with the cold facts, a shiver runs down
my spine.
This is cream on cream. A woman’s film! I feel ready to reject the film like a wrongly transplanted organ.
But what was it I wanted? With a state of mind as my starting point, I
desired to dive headlong into the abyss of German romanticism. Wagner
in spades. That much I know. But is that not just another way of
expressing defeat? Defeat to the lowest of cinematic common
denominators? Romance is abused in all sorts of endlessly dull ways in
mainstream products.
And then, I must admit, I have had happy love relationships with romantic cinema ... to name the obvious: Visconti!
German romance that leaves you breathless. But in Visconti, there was
always something to elevate matters beyond the trivial ... elevate it
to masterpieces!
I am confused now and feel guilty. What have I done?
Is it ’exit Trier?’ I cling to the hope that there may be a bone
splinter amid all the cream that may, after all, crack a fragile tooth
... I close my eyes and hope!
In"Fear not,"Silviais a youngmarked bya darkchildhood.At just25 yearsdecides torebuild her life anddeal withpeople, feelingsand emotionsthat keep youtiedto the past.And intheir struggleagainst adversity,against itself, you will learnto control theirfearsand becomean adult woman,mistress of heractions.
Director: Andrea Molaioli
Country: Italy
Runtime: 110 min
The dramatic reconstruction of a financial scandal involving a major
food processing company (inspired by the actual case of the dairy giant
Parmalat) run by prominent entrepreneur Rastelli and his trusted
accountant Botta.
Directed by: Wim Wenders Country: Germany, France, UK Runtime: 106 min
Pina is an essay on the life and work of renowned choreographer Pina
Bausch. Pina appears in some archival footage, and several members of
her dance troupe testify to her ingenuity and artistic inspiration. The
spirit of Pina, however, lives on in her dances: the film offers four of
Bausch’s famed dances in their entirety, but dispersed and intercut
throughout the film. The opening dance, The Rite of Spring, is a
mesmerizing and penetrating ballet through a field of earth. The film’s
hindrance may be that the first number is the strongest, but all four
dances are sharp and provocative, and they alternate between soundstages
and exterior settings. Aside from moving the dances outdoors,
Wenders transcends the theatrical boundaries of Pina’s stage and offers a
wholly cinematic rendering of her dances by shooting them in marvelous
3D.
Director: Nanni Moretti
Country: Italy | France
Runtime:
After the deathof the Pope,the conclavemet toelect his successor.Manyvotesare neededbeforethe white smokerises.Finally hechose acardinal!Butthe faithfulwho have gatheredinSt. Peter's Squarewaiting in vain forthe appearance on thebalcony of thenew pontiff.The latterdoes not seempreparedto support the weightof this responsibility.Is itanxiety?Depression?Fear ofnotliving up?The whole worldwill soon beprey toanxiety, whileat the Vatican,seeking solutionsto overcome thecrisis ...
Director: Terrence Malick Country: USA Runtime: 139min
The impressionistic story of a Texas family in the 1950s. The film
follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence
of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a
complicated relationship with his father (Brad Pitt). Jack (played as
an adult by Sean Penn) finds himself a lost soul in the modern world,
seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the
existence of faith.
An IMDb Review: Haunting
Unlike a novel the stories in this movie do not unfold, revelation
following revelation, culminating in a definable message or theme. There
is no moral, no hero, no emotional epiphanies. What it presents is an
extraordinarily haunting vision of childhood, how the things we love the
most are as fragile as morning dew yet immensely powerful. The things
that connect us, separate us, and bewilder us - again and again and
again throughout our lives. The saddest, most insightful, most poignant
portrayal of a family I have ever seen. Genius. How can this film
achieve commercial success? it seems impossible. How did a film so
ambitious get made when everything that makes money today is everything
this film isn't? Bravo to the producers, bravo to the early critics who
are stepping up and speaking out for this deeply moving masterpiece.
