Jamie passion and passionfruit!

I liked this Isabel Coixet movie that has been subject to very mixed reviews.  Based on the Philip Roth novel of the thawing of a smart academic (Ben Kingsley) who never quite commits to relationships and meets his match in Consuelo (played by Penelope Cruz in excellent form).  Of course, this relationship is quite different but he gives it the same treatment and regrets it when it comes to an end.  Events lead him to a reappraisal of his behaviour and he gets the chance to change, something which he said was inevitable but which he showed little evidence of.  This is a film about aging, about attraction, about the level on which we relate to others and Cruz is teaching Kingsley’s character that there are various levels.  Apart from the astute direction, the photography and music are good and the performances are a delight.  Apart from the very able leads we have Patricia Clarkson as Kingsley’s long term lover, an assured performance, Dennis Hopper surprising as his friend and Peter Sarsgaard as his mixed-up son. Even Debbie Harry has a nice cameo.  This is an intelligent, adult film that is not perfect but is accomplished and worth seeing.

* * * *

You don’t go to a Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne film for a laugh. They are bleak glances at the underclass in Europe, in particular Belgium and how life for the poor leads to some alienating experiences.  This time we have Lorna, played by Arta Dobroshi who as an Albanian marries drug addict Claudy (the excellent Jérémie Renier) to get Belgian citizenship and be able to buy a bar with her boyfriend.  Her marriage is more than she bargained for as Claudy decides to go clean and clings to her more while at the same time the mafia boss who sets the deal up wants Claudy out of the scene and Lorna widowed so she can marry a rich Russian who also wants the Belgian citizenship that she now has and will pay so she can start her business.  Lorna keeps going until things start to give and her feelings become involved. Can she avoid this sequence of events or is the only way that she and her absent guest worker boyfriend can get their dream?  This is a film about the power of money and the price you pay to get things emotionally as well as physically. And the collusion of the developed countries and the financial markets in allowing this sort of scenario to arise and in fact be shockingly common. It may not be their best film but I liked the way the characters develop during the movie and how we get to change our opinions about Lorna and Claudy during the story.  Dobroshi does a great job in the lead role and the screenplay and direction maintains the high standards and quiet strength of the brothers.

* * * * +

Olivier Assayas gives us an assured and sympathetic look at the issues involved in selling off family property when a parent dies and in particular a rustic country house which the family has enjoyed over the years and the collection of art inside which is related to the father of the tribe.  Is this the end of a family legacy?  What effects on a family will it have to lose this centre?  Assayas treats this dilemma with taste, calm and perception to give us a moving and low key movie that is thought provoking and enjoyable to watch.  It is also a look at how the old customs in France are disappearing as the country becomes part of a globalised world.  For it is the children abroad who want to sell and the one who has stayed in France who wants to keep the place.  A look at the end of an era if you will.  La Binoche continues to show how much she has grown with a character which demonstrates her ability to be physically different on screen and Charles Berling handlesone or two scenes beautifully.  A very correct film without reaching heights of greatness.

* * * *

The Baz Luhrmann spectacle hits the road again with a sort of homage to the founding of the continent – drovers in the outback, Aboriginal culture with their kids being forced off to mission schools, the Japanese invasion in WW2, magic reality from the aborigines, old favourite Oz stars like Jack Thompson and Bryan Brown, an exciting cattle drive, an air raid, a big band ball, impressive landscapes and some romantic moments snatched in the middle of all this are the ingredients.  Luhrmann knows most of it is kitsch and clichéd but his intention is to produce a blockbusting epic.  Long it is, entertaining it can be, authentic it mostly is not.  The director wants to make a number of points on racism and conservative attitudes and that is fine but it sits uneasily at times with the fairy story nature of the film.  The leads, Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman are not exactly riveting, Jackman does his best and while Kidman has his moments, she seems rather lost as an actress.  Brandon Walters as the young boy shines among this crew.  The photography is lovely but how much is real or computer generated and the script wouldn’t win any prizes with its oh-so-obvious references to the Wizard of Oz.  And yet, it is not completely disastrous and as a sort of fantasy it can catch you up and swing you along if you suspend your disbelief.  Three points for the mechanics and the sheer cheek.

* * *

Latest in a long line of rather forced comedies that come out of France seemingly with priority for conquering the world over other styles of film.  The good points in this film are its slick pacing and a good lead performance by Michèle Laroque as the ‘widow’ who seems ditzy but is actually a bit more clued up than others think.  Valerie Mairesse as the maid, Nicole also rates a mention.  The rest have stereotypical roles.  While I laughed out loud a few times, not all the jokes worked and I definitely felt I had seen it all before. Nonetheless, the movie does have a few things to say about death and taking your chances.  Not a wipe out but nothing very new.

* * +