Category Archives: Foreign Film

Coming Soon, Drama, Film Festival, Foreign Film, Independent Film, Narrative, Oscars, Preview, Review

New York Film Festival Preview: Beyond the Hills

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(Re-posted from LimitéMagazine.com)

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiJRGbCKCu0]

Screenings:

Monday, October 1, 9pm (Alice Tully Hall)

Sunday, October 7, 2:30pm (Alice Tully Hall)

Thursday, October 11, 3:30pm (Howard Gilman Theater)

Venue: Lincoln Center, NYC

Series: NYFF50: Main Slate

Voichita and Alina, childhood friends who were raised in the same orphanage, are reunited in the hills of Romania after years of separation. Voichita is a nun in training, living in a pious monastery in the hills without electricity or any other conveniences of modern life. Alina is returning from Germany, where she’s spent the last several years. Feeling anxious and alone, Alina is determined to convince her best friend to return to Germany with her, but Voichita is not the same girl. She’s found God and is under the watchful eye of the resident priest and patriarch of the monastery, simply known as Papa. Alina decides to stay, in hopes that she will be able to persuade her friend to leave the monastery. Things go awry for everyone there once Alina begins to display erratic behaviors, threatening the resident nuns and priest and forcing them to take action.

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Comedy, Coming Soon, Documentary, Drama, Foreign Film, Independent Film, Narrative, New Release, Preview, Sci-Fi, Thriller, War, Western

2012 Fall Film Guide

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(Re-posted from LimitéMagazine.com)

September 5, 2012

Labor Day has passed, and now it’s time to consider this year’s crop of what will inevitably be considered some of Oscar’s biggest fodder. It’s no surprise that when it comes to the Academy Awards, the movies that are most likely to be honored with a nomination are those that are released towards the end of the year. Some of this year’s frontrunners appear to be Argo, Django Unchained, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Hyde Park on Hudson, Life of Pi, Lincoln, The Master, Les Misérables, Silver Linings Playbook, Wreck-It Ralph, and Zero Dark Thirty. Of course, there’s plenty of other flicks to look forward to, spanning all genres and audience interests.

Note: All non-authored pieces’ loglines are courtesy of IMDb.com.

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Actors, Awards, Drama, Film Festival, Filmmakers, Foreign Film, Independent Film, Narrative, News

Michael Haneke’s AMOUR Claims Coveted Palme d’Or Prize at Cannes Film Festival

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(Re-posted from AceShowbiz.com)

May 28, 2012

The 65th edition of the annual world-class movie festival also names Mads Mikkelsen as the Best Actor, and Cristina Flutur as well as Cosmina Stratan as the Best Actresses.
The 65th annual Cannes Film Festival has revealed which movie deserved to claim its top prize of Palme d’Or. On Sunday night, May 27, it was announced that Michael Haneke’s highly praised drama Amour has won the prestigious award.
Upon receiving the prize with lead actors Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva, the 70-year-old director said, “I thank my wife, who has been putting up with me for years.” He added, “Thanks to my wonderful actors. They are the essence of it.”
This was the second time the Munich-born moviemaker won the coveted Palme d’Or gong at Cannes. Back in 2009, the Austrian filmmaker took home the same award through his acclaimed work in The White Ribbon.
Animation, Classic Film, Filmmakers, Foreign Film, Narrative, Sci-Fi, Short Film

Short Film: “A Trip to the Moon”

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Martin Scorsese’s recent film Hugo prominently features pioneering French filmmaker Georges Méliès and his works, chief among them is his 1902 short “A Trip to the Moon” (“Le Voyage dans la lune”). This film has the distinction of being the very first science-fiction film. It follows a small group of astronomers who journey to the moon and discover its inhabitants.

This film features innovative animation and special effects. It was named one of the 100 greatest films of the 20th century (#84) in a Village Voice poll.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYRemE9Oeso&ob=av1n]
Comedy, Filmmakers, Foreign Film, In Theatres, Independent Film, Narrative, Oscars, Review

Review: The Artist

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NOTE: This review contains spoilers.

Some time last year, I thought to myself, “Why doesn’t anyone make a silent film today? It would be interesting to see a contemporary filmmaker’s take on early cinema.” And then The Artist came along …

I had been looking forward to seeing The Artist since it screened at Cannes mid-last year. The film follows 1927 silent screen superstar George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) as he holds firmly onto his principles at the expense of his career in the wake of the emergence of “talkies.” Following a chance encounter with one of his fans, Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo), who bumps into him (literally), she is immediately bitten by the Hollywood bug. As her acting career takes off in the talking pictures, Valentin’s begins to flounder. It’s the stuff A Star Is Born is made of.

Typically, I’m a sucker for movies about movies, and being a classic film buff, I was excited about the prospects of watching a modern-day silent film set in the ’20s, a pivotal period in early cinema. Having just watched it, I can say that it’s a terrific film. As is the case with any great film, all elements come together to make one great picture—a reminder that the sum should always be greater than its parts. The film, much like its leading man Dujardin, is debonair, classy, and charming. The beautiful black-and-white cinematography by Guillaume Schiffman merges with some dazzling performances by Dujardin, Bejo, and John Goodman (who plays a Cecil B. DeMille-type studio executive).

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Animation, Foreign Film, Narrative, Oscars, Short Film

Short Film: “Oktapodi”

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This 2008 Oscar-nominated animated French short film was directed by Emud Mokhberi, Thierry Marchand, Julien Bocabeille, François-Xavier Chanioux, Olivier Delabarre, and Quentin Marmier. It’s a quick watch, at just 2:26.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=badHUNl2HXU]

Comedy, Foreign Film, Independent Film, Narrative, Short Film

Short Film: “Signs” by Patrick Hughes

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I first watched this short a couple of years ago and loved it. Watching it again, I like it, but it doesn’t have the magic that I seemed to remember the first time.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uy0HNWto0UY]
Drama, Foreign Film, Independent Film, Narrative, Sci-Fi, Short Film

Short Film: “Alive in Joburg” by Neill Blomkamp

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In my last post, I referenced District 9, the South African Oscar Best Picture nominee from 2008. “Alive in Joburg” is the 2006 short film on which District 9 was based, directed by Neill Blomkamp (who also helmed the feature) and produced by Sharlto Copley (who stars in the feature adaptation).

Aliens have arrived to Johannesburg …

Awards, Film Festival, Foreign Film, News

2011 Cannes Award Winners Announced

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Despite some severely mixed audience reactions, Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life walked away with the top honor at Cannes, winning the coveted Palme d’Or. Here are the feature film award winners, which were announced today:

Palme d’Or

The Tree of Life (dir. Terrence Malick)

Grand Prix

Bir zamanlar anadolu’da (Once upon a Time in Anatolia) (dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan)

Le gamin au vélo (The Kid with a Bike) (dir. Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne)

Best Director

Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive)

Jury Prize

Polisse (dir. Maïwenn)

Best Actor

Jean Dujardin (The Artist)

Best Actress

Kirsten Dunst (Melancholia)

Best Screenplay

Joseph Cedar (Hearat shulayim [Footnote])

Film Festival, Foreign Film, Independent Film

If I Were at Cannes …

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How could I call this a film blog and make no mention of the currently running Festival de Cannes, unarguably the most important festival of them all? Although I’d love to report directly from the south of France, I’m not. (Some day!) But here are 10 films I’d try to see if I were there …

(All images and synopses are courtesy of festival-cannes.com.)

The Artist

Hollywood, 1927. George Valentin is a silent movie superstar. The advent of the talkies will sound the death knell for his career and see him fall into oblivion. For young extra Peppy Miller, it seems the sky’s the limit—major movie stardom awaits.

Director: Michel Hazanavicius

Screenwriter: Michel Hazanavicius

Cast: Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell, Penelope Ann Miller, Missi Pyle

Country: France

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