High Tension (Haute Tension, France 2003)

Director Alexandre Aja has made a hit and run, killer on the loose road movie, that is both visually grotesque and intense, following the good old 70's Euro-trash horror films. We follow two friends' journey into a cottage house outside of the big city where they live. Suddenly, a killer breaks into the house at night, killing everyone he meets. It begins as your usual Jason killer flick, but halfway through the story, there is an unexpected twist that makes this film worth watching. The killing scenes are very strong and visceral, with blood sprouting in every direction. The tension is, as the title suggests, high, because you really don't know if the two friends will survive this killing rampage. This movie is definitely not for sensitive audiences.

Melinda and Melinda (USA, 2004)

I am not a fan of Woody Allen, but I must say I found his latest films quite interesting. They have their own style, and you either love them or hate them. I personally find them amusing. His latest movie tells the story of Melinda. In fact, it is the same story told twice, first as a drama and then as a comedy. Both stories alternate each other, so it's like watching two stories at the same time. Desperate Melinda arrives at her best friend's house one evening, interrumpting a dinner her friend was hosting. Melinda has had a difficult life, having divorced, and losing the custody of her children, and then being kept in a mental institution, attempting suicide, etc. It all sounds very depressing, but when we see the comedy version of it, it turns out very entertaining. Melinda meets someone unexpectedly, and things change for her. The way characters tell their stories and the way Woody Allen builds up their dialogues make up for a fun ride into the lives of Melinda and her New York friends.

The Legend of Paul and Paula (Die Legende von Paul und Paula) East Germany, 1973

In this romantic story, two ordinary citizens of former East Germany meet at a bar. Before that happens, we see how they live their everyday routine. Life is not easy for Paula, who has two jobs: at a bottle recycling plant and at a state supermarket. Paul is an employee at the army. When they meet at a 70's style groovy bar, they start a love relationship that will not last very long. Paula falls deeply in love, and when Paul wants to break with her, her world is torn apart. She has two kids, and when one of them is run by a car and dies, the film stops being a comedy and turns into a drama. It is a very 70's movie, with various face close-ups, groovy rock music as background and colorful clothes. This was one of the most famous films to come out from behind the "iron curtain". Director Heiner Carow created a myth with Paul and Paula, with whom many Germans identified at the time. Many of the actors who appeared in this film decided to leave East Germany in the early 1980's in protest against the government's policies and repressions.

The Nameless (Els Sense Nom, Catalonia, Spain, 1999)


Jaume Balaguero's film begins as a tragic story, when a mother loses her daughter, victim of a horrendous mutilation. Then the story jumps five years ahead and suddenly the mother receives a phone call from her daughter, telling her she is still alive but prisoner in some kind of cult group. This will start a desperate search for the girl, with the help of an old friend, the mother starts to find out the truth: apparently her daughter has been used to explore the limits of pain in a hidden cult which initiated in Scotland. This is one of the best movies I have seen dealing with the subject of cult and fanatism. The unexpected ending will leave you astonished. Throughout the film, the viewer has the impression of getting to the truth of things, but every now and then there is a twist, and the real truth appears more shocking than before. This is a movie I wanted to see for a long time now. If you like the Spanish film "The Thesis" you should not miss this Spanish jewel.

Irreversible (France, 2002)

Director Gaspar Noé is well known for creating ultra violent and realistic films. This one is no exception, following his own cruel style, Noé explores the life of a Parisian couple on one single fateful day. The story is told backwards, beginning with the last scene late that night, moving on to the previous events. This is a story of revenge. Marcus is confronted with the rape of his girlfriend, Alex (the beautiful Monica Bellucci) He seeks revenge by looking for the rapist that same night. A 20-minutes rape scene, a visit into a gay bar, menacing trasvestite hookers in the Parisian streets: it all looks dreadful and terrifying, hard to believe this really happens in a developed country, such as France.

Ostkreuz (East Cross, Germany, 1989)

Director Michael Klier depicts a very depressing portray of life in former East Germany. 14-year-old Elfie lives with her mother in East Berlin. While she skips classes and practically does nothing productive, her mother sleeps with a friend in exchange for money. They both want to pay the appartment they live in. Elfie meets a Polish fellow who shows her the way to steal pickpocket style on the streets. The money she gets out of this is not enough, and her mother decides to leave East Germany with her "boyfriend" she leaves her daughter behind. It cannot be a more depressing ending, although it is not a heartbreaking story.

Brazil (UK, 1985)

Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet called Brazil "retro-futurism", a willfully absurdist dystopian fable about an impossible future that feels more like an antiquated past. It is the story of a society completely controlled by a dictatorship. Every single move is registered by the government, and bundles of acts must be filled out before anyone wants to do anything. Our main character falls in love with a girl he meets on the street, and in his attempt to find her, he accepts a promotion in the information ministry. An exciting and blow-your-mind experience begins when he tries to get into the files and find her profile. This is retro-futurism in all its true form, and true science fiction jewel not to be missed.

The Squid and the Whale (USA, 2005)

Noah Baumbach's latest film is a very un-Royal Tannenbaums tragicomedy about a family tearing itself to shreds. 12-year-old Frank and 16-year-old Walt watch their once-famous novelist father and rising writer mother turn family history into urban myth. At times perceptive and moving and bracing, also admirably ruthless, it is also a very funny story. Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney do an excellent job as a married couple trying to save their marriage. The film won the 2005 Dramatic Directing and Waldo Salt Screenwriting price at the last Sundance film festival.

Nuit Noire (Belgium, 2004)


Surrealist director Olivier Smolders wanted to make a film similiar to Lynch's Eraserhead, a masterpiece in the surrealist cinema movement. And if you watch closely, there are quite a lot of things in common between both films, especially the dark scenes and lurky soundtrack. I'll try to explain the plot: the director of a museum for natural science, let's call him Jean, finds a woman in his bedroom one day. She is sick, and soon we discover she is pregnant. Meanwhile, we also learn Jean has some serious pscychological problems. He is obsessed by the fact that his sister died and was attacked by lions. We see some gory scenes which correspond to his nightmares. Jean decides to make a cocoon out of the sick woman. After several days of "incubation", a new woman is born, who becomes his new girlfriend. All along the way, Jean's sister appears and talks to him. What is the connection between his sister's violent death and the new-born girlfriend? It's up to you to find out.

Sans toit ni loi (France, 1985)

Director Agnès Varda has an interest for subjects that involve women. In one of her most famous films, Sans toi ni loi, a young help is found dead in the countryside. From that point on, we go back and see how she lived her last days as a runaway. In all the towns she passes thru, she meets interesting people. Some are more willing to help her than others, but unfortunately the young girl soon loses interest in people, and always decides to move on and find a new town. This is not a feminist film at all, nor does it speak against woman. It is an authentic portray on the life of a teenager who has lost all hope on stability and society in general. We also get to hear the real French countryside accent, since most of the folks were taken from real life. The last scenes are so realistic they can be difficult to watch.

The Fisherman and His Wife (Der Fischer und seine Frau / Germany / 2004)

As part of the International Film Festival of Montréal, this little german movie had its world premiere yesterday. Director Doris Dörre came up with an interesting twist to the classical Grimm brothers fairy tale. Ida, daughter of Romanian refugees who came to Germany, wants to be a fashion designer. During one of her trips to Japan, where she looks for exotic fabrics and clothes, she meets two German guys. She falls in love with one of them, Otto, and quickly get married. Otto is a veterinarian specialized in fish. Ida then becomes famous with her clothes designs and builds a fashion imperium of her own. Otto, on the other hand, remains with his old job, having no ambitions in life. At the end, when Ida loses all her money, she is also convined that true happiness and love does not depend necessarily on money. A fast paced story with a good soundtrack makes it a nice love story to watch.

In Canada

I am writing my blog from the city of Montreal now. Some say it's the capital of the film industry in this country, I would like to believe that. In the meantime, I am busy looking for appartment, food, friends, a job, etc., etc., the essential things in life. To begin with, there is the World Film Festival going on right now, which will end this weekend. For more information check out this page: www.ffm-montreal.org.

The Scarlet Kimono (USA, 1959)

Director Samuel Fuller was a very prolific screenwriter. Unfortunately, his career as director did not quite stood up. Although he is considered an excellent film director, his few films are unknown to movie fans. In this particular one, Sugar, a nightclub stripper, is brutaly assassinated one night. Police detectives link her murder to a criminal organization. Apparently, Sugar used to buy oriental style paintings from a local artist (junkie I would say). The local artists falls in love with both police detectives who are investigating the case, and a moral dilemma ensues. Meanwhile, we are led to believe that Mr. Shuho, a sumo wrestler, is behind the murder, and he runs back and forth trying to escape the law. A lot of Japanese traditional ceremonies are shown, but at the end, the real murderer is not the one we thought. A surprising twist gives this film an interesting approach, but there is also a lot of blah blah blah in between, which could have been cut.

The Kiss of Death (USA, 1947)

Another gangster movie by director Howard Hughes. This time, professional “crook” Nick Bianco, is caught by the police while stealing a jewellery in New York. Police detective Di Angelo (I don’t understand their penchant for Italian names, like the mafia) puts him in jail. His other two assistants were able to escape. Bianco misses his wife and two little children girls. Along the way, he helps police detectives catch other gangsters. He becomes what they call a “squealer”, one who “sings”, in other words, tells the truth and blames other crooks. This is an interesting approach, far from expressionist scenes, the Kiss of Death deals more with the consequences of leading a life trying always to evade law and order, and the relation between his wife and two little kids. Extremely well acted scenes and a suspenseful climax make it a fun noir film to watch.

My Top 30 (week of 14 August 2005)

1. Lifehouse – You And Me
2. Ludacris – Pimpin’ All Over The World
3. Lil’ Jon & the Eastside Boyz – Get Low
4. Ben Moody feat. Anastacia – Everything Burns
5. MVP – Rock Ya Body
6. Timo Maas – First Day
7. Destiny’s Child – Girl
8. Mis-Teeq – Eye Candy
9. Mariah Carey – We Belong Together
10. Shakira feat. Alejandro Sanz – La Tortura
11. Bodyrockers – I Like The Way

12. Black Eyed Peas – Don’t Phunk With My Heart
13. The Game feat. 50 Cent – Hate It Or Love It
14. 50 Cent – Just A Lil Bit
15. Nivea – Okay
16. Miri Ben-Ari – Jump & Spread Out
17. Fat Joe feat. Nelly – Get It Poppin
18. Rihanna – Pon De Replay
19. Akon – Lonely
20. Kelly Clarkson – Behind These Hazel Eyes
21. Rachel Stevens – So Good

22. Beverly Knight – Keep The Fire Burning (Remix)
23. Lemar – Time To Grow
24. Basement Jaxx – Oh My Gosh
25. Rob Thomas – Lonely No More
26. Mariah Carey – It’s Like That
27. Akon – Bananza (Belly Dancer)
28. Amerie feat. Eve – 1 Thing
29. Gwen Stefani – Hollaback Girl
30. Selma – If I Had Your Love
31. Anastacia – Heavy On My Heart

The United States of Leland (USA, 2003)


Independent films from the USA always surprise me. I wonder why they do not have more of these and less no-brains action remakes (I think money explains it all) It’s a shame really.

Leland, son of famous novelist Albert Fitzgerald, commits an atrocious crime. He kills a boy with Down syndrome named Ryan. He does not feel any remorse. His jail teacher and writer wannabe, Pearl Madison, sees a great story for his next book by writing about Leland. He starts meeting with him and having existentialist conversations. Meanwhile, his ex-girlfriend, Becky, is under treatment for drugs. Things get complicated when we learn that Ryan was Becky’s brother. Director Matthew Ryan Hoge plays around with many interesting ideas: the existence of God, good and evil behaviours in people, the loss of any hope for a better and happier life. It deals with many controversial messages. It reminded me of American Beauty, with Kevin Spacey playing the role of writer Albert Fitzgerald. This is another gem from the American indie scene.

Scarface (USA, 1932)

Controversial producer Howard Hughes, who was recently portrayed by DiCaprio in Scorsese’s latest film, the Aviator, was a controversial fellow back in the thirties. Scarface represents the first truly violent gangster film in American cinema, and that makes it a classic. Back in the days when beer was prohibited, Tony (Paul Muni), an “alcohol” dealer, makes tons of money and enemies along the way of becoming the king of all bars in the city (the name of the city is never revealed to the audience). He also meets the love of his life, and while trying to seduce her, he keeps a grip on his sister who is dating older and dangerous alcohol dealers. The political message is very strong. It denounces the government’s lack of control over the many beer mafia groups in the US at that time. The movie was made in 1930, but censorship prohibited its exhibition until 1932. Albeit the good interpretations and plot, the movie never received any prize (nor any nomination for that matter). Scarface was definitely a film ahead of its time, a breakthrough in gangster movies

What Time Is It There? (Ni Neibian Jidian / Taiwán, France, 2001)

Director Tsai Ming-liang likes long panoramic shots. Every scene in this movie lasts at least three minutes, some are much longer. There is no background music. This is the perfect example of minimalism in film. Some will love it and some will surely hate it. There is no formal script, and actors are just given clues as to how they must act in every scene. Tsai Ming-liang explores his most recurrent themes: solitude, dysfunctional families and lack of communication. In this French-Taiwanese production, Lee is a street vendor. One of her customers insists on buying Lee’s own watch. She tells him she is going to Paris on vacations. He starts to daydream about Paris, and one night, after asking the operator on the phone what time it is in Paris, he suddenly feels a need to change the time of every watch or clock he stumbles upon. He sets every clock to time in France. Meanwhile, we are taken to Paris to see how this girl spends her days in the city of lights. Nothing unusual happens because she is alone all the time, she doesn’t speak French and feels somewhat isolated. This is an interesting take on minimalism in film.

The Machinist (Spain, 2004)


I loved this movie. At first you do not know what to expect. Twenty minutes into the film, right after the terrible accident in the factory, for which Trevor is blamed (Christian Bale) in which a worker loses his arm, and after he declares to her prostitute “girlfriend” that he hasn’t slept in one year, and you see his naked chest resembling a living skeleton or a concentration camp refugee, you cannot take your eyes away from the terrible events that occur, one after another, giving the audience only small hints as to what is really going on. Everything goes downhill for Trevor from this point on.

How can remorse mess someone up and alter his or her life? That is the constant question director Brad Anderson tries to give answer to. And he does this incredibly well, with scenes that keep you going until the very end. Trevor experiences hallucinations and cannot separate them from real life. He even believes his work colleagues are plotting against him. The terrible truth is much simpler, but equally disturbing. This is definitely a must-see.

Land of the Dead (USA / Canada, 2004)

If George Romero has a preference in filmmaking, that would be zombie movies. His 1968 black & white zombie classic, Day of the Living Dead, earned him worldwide reputation. In this remake, we get to see Romero’s latest interpretation of a world full of zombies, where the few humans left try to survive. New social classes have emerged. The rich live in the tallest building of the city (I believe it’s Chicago) the poor live in the slums around this building, protected from the zombies only by electric wire fences and the military. One ex-military wants a condo in the building. His request is refused by the building authorities. He then seeks revenge by stealing a bus-tank with war missiles. In the meantime, zombies learn how to use weapons, and soon enough a war between “normal” humans and the “stenches” (as they call the zombies) ensues. There are heaps of gore scenes: zombies eating human bodies a plenty, all in the spirit of the 80’s slasher films.