movie reviews

Global rating of the product: 5 stars

Gerard Depardieu is probably one of the best French actors alive. If you appreciated him in other movies, you will probably totally love this one. In his most recent movie, ” La Tete En Friche”, he is starring along with Gisele Casadesus.

The term ” en friche” in French is an idiomatic expression that usually refers to uncultivated fields. The field here is Germain ( Gerard Depardieu)’s head. German, a man who is in his 50′s, is quite illiterate. He shares his sparetime between his friends at a local cafe ( some of them are making fun of his ignorance), his girlfriend, his abusive mom and his garden. The paradox is that German is a great cultivator, a gardener of exception, who knows how to grow ( and sell) his vegetables.

Some people, who seem unsignificant at first sight, sometimes appear in our lives when we expect them the least. Some of them have the power to change our lives, though. Germain’s destiny will completely change after he encounters a 95 year old lady, Margueritte ( Gisele Casadesus). The old lady happens to be very ciultivated and she is a great litterature teacher to Germain. She introduces him to the world of French writers Albert Camus and Jules Supervielle. Germain realizes that reading is also playing with your imagination, visualizing and bringing things to life.

Dealing with his mom suffers from an early stage of dementia, Germain regularly meets, Margueritte at the same place, in a park, in an avid quest of knowledge.

French writers and a recently acquired syllabus allow Germain to express in a different way to the greatest surprise of his friends, who barely recognize him.

Dramatic circumstamces affect Germain: he learns from Margueritte’s mouth that she will be condemned to progressive blindness. The old lady’s universe is made of books…what is going to happen to her? Germain, encouraged by his girlfriend is ready to make the effort to be her friend’s reader.

He will improve his reading skills.

Germain’s mom dies suddenly. At the same time his girlfriend gets pregnant. Germain is over the moon!
His mom, who didn’t seem to like him when she was alive left a fortune to her son. Good news for Germain, who is now ready to visit Margueritte at her luxury elderly home. To his greatest surprise, he is informed the old lady has been taken by her family. She now lives somewhere in Belgium.
When Germain knocks at the door, he lerans from Margueritte’s son, that she has been put in another elderly home, because the family couldn’t take care of her.

When Germain eventually find Margueritte, she seems abandoned in a kind of elderly home where old people are treated like useless things.

Germain makes his decision rapidly: he kidnaps her old friend and takes her home.

The movie is full of tenderness and a true love story. It is accessible to all kind of people. Fluent French is required, though.

A must see…I loved it and I recoomend it to anybody:)

Copyright© by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

Global rating of the product:3.5 stars

There is a huge difference between daydreaming and actually living your dreams: to live your dreams, it is essential to take some action, to have some soul and to spice up your life with some passion.

Dream Girls is an interesting movie I came across recently. If you are passionate about black music, curious about tyhe music industry and recognize yourself as a Motown sound fan, this movie is definitely for you. Not only does it offer a wide range of vocally rich, musical samples that will definitely talk to your soul, the movie also opens up on a realistic glance about the other side of the mirror: the cruel world of the music industry gets depicted the way it actually is. Business often puts real talent in jeopardy.

Beyonce Knowles and Jamie Foxx are starringas Deanna and Curtis. Three teenage girls from Detroit who are calling themselves the ” Dreamettes” want to make it to the top. Despite their hard work and the help of a talented songwriter, the trio is facing adversity. Their destiny will take a different turn when they meet Jimmy Early (played by Eddie Murphy) who actually needs some backsingers for his current tour.

Backsingers? What a disappointment for our ambitious female singers who are dreaming of a successful superstar’s life. But Jimmy promises to give them a major role as soon as the opportunity strikes. Jimmy Early posesses the genuine qualities you’d expect from a soul singer: he has heart, possesses deep and wide vocal chords, moreover he is rich of an upbeat dynamism on stage that wouldn’t leave anybody indifferent.

The D town of the sixties is still struggling with racial prejudice. At this time, climbing the charts as a black artist was ten times harder as for an equally talented white artist. Copyright infringement laws weren’t as precise as they are now, so it often happenned that a track was stolen. Jimmy Early’s Cadillac song (just after its brillianrt start in the radio charts) suddenly appeared in a weakened, modified, yet successful song stolen by some white artist. Curtis, who acts as the manager, fires back by reinjecting money into his business. To do so, he had to sell all his Cadillac cars.

One can only sympathise with Effie’s cause. How could one not feel angry in front of such an amazing talent getting lost for the business’ greedy purposes? But if you are familiar with the music industry, you will probably know that this is the way it actually works: managers often give preference to average talents that are capable to please a manipulated mainstream public than promoting an outstanding and original artist. Even when some of them make a definite choice in favor of the talented artist, in the end they will shape him into a mainstream pleasing puppet.

The movie is fulfilled with some good soul music that will put you into very good spirits. If you love swinging music amnd heartfelt artists with brilliant on stage performances, go watch the movie!

Copyright© by Isabelle Esling

All Rights Reserved

Global rating of the product: 4.5 stars ( a must see)

Jacques Mesrine is probably one of the most popular French OG’s of the 20th century and maybe also one of the most enigmatic. Jacques Mesrine marqued my childhood, because he was constantly making the headlines in the French news. His place of death, rue Belliard, Paris, is also very familiar to me, because I used to live near there a few years ago.
Putting this enigmatic figure on the screen was a risky and delicate task, as Jacques doesn’t really fit into the standard gangsta stereotype. He was a man of many faces: attaching, touching, with a warped sense of humor, certainly a man of word with his fellow gangsta friends, but also violent and even cruel in specific circumstances. The main challenge was probaly to find an actor who was able to incarnate the complexity of Mr Mesrine’s character. The producer found the right person in Vincent Cassel ( well known for his brilliant play in La Haine).

Vincent Cassel plays his role so much to the perfection that he becomes Jacques Mesrine. He incarnates the criminal, the bank robber picturing the outlaw’s tough side ( according to what I heard and saw in my childhood, I have the impression that the real Mesrine was a tougher man, though).
Vincent Cassel also depicts Jacques attaching side, as a father or simply in his relationship with women, except the quite horrible scene in which he puts a gun into his wife’s mouth.

The war of Algeria has shaped young Jacques who considers self defence and illegal affairs as a way of life. As Jacques eventually returns to his parents’ home in Clichy, he also chooses his destiny: to live by the arms.

Love him or hate him, one must recognize Jacques’ cleverness. The movie enlightens the criminal’s genius in terms of organizing robberies and evasions from jail, in France and in Canada, It also recalls detainees horrible detention conditions and allows the viewer some reflection about corruption in the judiciary system, which Jacques sarcastically points out, giving evidence at his own trial.

While some people would consider him as a kind of ” Robin Hood”, some others would qualify him as “Public Enemy Nr1″.
Jacques Mesrine reached such a great degree of popularity that he made the Paris Match cover.

In his own point of view, Jacques was fighting against capitalism by “taking money from the state’s institutions” ( the banks) and a revolutionary trying to liberate his co-detainees in prison. While I admit that the person must have scared the hell out of people ( and he would probably have scared the hell out of me too if I had met him), I nevertheless find his character and story fascinating. The story takes place mainly in France and in Canada, where Mesrine manages to kidnap a billionaire which he will reiterate in France asking for a huge ransom.

Let Vincent Cassel introduce you to Mesrine’s character and follow the story…you won’t be disappointed!

Copyright© by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

Global rating of the product: 5 stars, no contest!

If you like music and here I’m not talking about a specific genre, but the music taken as a whole, you should definitely watch that world acclaimed masterpiece. Les Choristes ( The Choristers) will introduce you into a deep world made of musical dedication and intense feelings. If you ever doubted that one single person can change people’s destinies, then it is really time to believe.

In a cold boarding school aimed at unruly board, Principal Rachin ( interpreted by François Berléand) has put into place a very repressive system, promising to react to any action. For each action, there will be a consequent punishment.

In this context, Clement Mathieu ( brilliantly interpreted by Gerard Jugnot), a former music professor and a musician himself, accepts the position of supervisor. Nicknamed ” Crane D’Oeuf” by the pupils, Clement Mathieu manages to reach them, by inserting more justice into the school system and by communicating them his passion for the music.

He even reaches Morhange ( a boy everybody had given up on)’s heart. Morhange’s beautiful voice will be revealed during the movie.
Clement Mathieu nourishes a secret passion for Morhange’s mom, but to is greatest disappointment, she is engaged to somebody else.

The pureness of the kids’ voices while interpreting Rameau’s work is remarkable. It is touching and will bring most of you back to childhood times (even if yours was different from what shown in the movie).

The movie ends up on a note of hope and melancholy at the same time, as Clement Mathieu gets sacked from the school on a slight mistake.

Years have gone by and at his mother’s death, Morhange opens up Clement Mathieu’s memoirs.

The whole movie is fulfilled with the positive spirit of musical revelation. A must see, Don’t miss that one!

Copyright© by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

Rating of the movie:4 stars

Good Will Hunting is a complex Gus Van Sant movie that came out in 1997.

A lot of people in this world do possess a stereotyped view of geniuses. According to them, geniuses are supposed to be brilliant pupil who pass each exam with an amazing ease and whose path to a brilliant, successful life is already traced.

The reality is often very different. Many real life situations tend to prove that the genius can be hidden behind a guy with no education, the average and ordinary person we won’t even pay attention to.

Will is an M.I.T janitor, an ordinary guy from the Boston hood, who comes from a dysfunctional family. He also has some criminal records at his active, yet he can solve very complex mathematic equations.

The discovery of Will’s brilliant mind could open him the door to brand new perspectives. However, because of his criminal records, Will has to undergo counselling if he wants to be able to work with the professor who discovered his talent.

Through Will’s counselling, the viewer will understand the difficulty of a deeply wounded mind who has been physically abused by his father. Growing up in the hood can leave deep scars into a man’s brain.

As the councelling goes on, Will learns how to understand and to accept his own failures.

He also refuses to turn his back to the place he grew up in, despite the brilliant future his professor promises him-far away from his place.

Matt Damon stars in the role of Will. He unveils for us the true meaning of happiness, which has nothing to do with climbing the hierarchy of social classes, nor does it have to do with I.Q.

True happiness is a matter of acceptance and interior fulfillment.

My advice: watch the movie…it has a lot to teach about real life situations!

Copyright© 2007 by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

The story of Mr and Mrs Loving takes place in the Unites States of the sixties, a period during which racism was pretty much alive and people of different racial background barely mixed.

The Southern States, in particular, carried some old fashioned racist laws that went back to the Secession war.

But love is blind or should I say colorblind?

Richard and Mildred are friends since their childhood. Both families from the white and black side as well, appreciate each other.
Even during times of racial tensions Cupid would hit a white man and a black woman s hearts. Both would love each other enough to consider a serious engagement such as marriage.

A marriage between both persons is viewed as a blessing in both families and the wedding leads to an outbreak of joy and happiness.

Mrs Loving, however, is very much unaware of the inhuman Virginian laws when she marries her loving husband.

After a police interrupted honeymoon, husband and wife are put into jail.

The Court of Virginia decides to ban the couple from living in Virginia for 25 years, which breaks both families heart.

Mildred and Richard are heading towards Washington DC, where they will face new difficulties and discriminatory behaviors.

Forced to live in a black ghetto that is full of dirt instead of a pleasant home, Mildred gives birth to her first child, a lovely little boy.

While staying in Washington, Mildred has the brilliant idea to write to Senator Kennedy.

After a failed attempt to return to Virginia, miraculously escaping the police, the couple is back.

Mildred s letter to Mr Kennedy won t be left unanswered. A lawyer accepts to take care of their interracial issue, but he fairly warns the couple that it will take years to be handled.

In the meantime, Mildred has two more children with her husband.

As she sees her kids grow, the Court eventually answers.

The final decision s result is a total dismissal of the old, racial Virginian law.

The poignant story that is brilliantly interpreted by Timothy Hutton as Richard and Lela Rochon in the role of Mildred. The story is based on true facts. The Court case (Loving vs. Virginia) created a precedent and totally fought Virginia’s anti-miscegenation law.

It was the key to a first step for more tolerance about interracial marriages in the USA, in the Southern states in particular.

Like it was said in the movie, a marriage is a matter of persons, not of race. The state should not interfere in such private matters. The movie is a pretty good example to prove that true love doesn t consider race nor does it fade away all over the years.

My advice: watch the movie. It is touching and well interpreted. Black music lovers, also lend an attentive ear to the songs played during the whole movie!

Copyright © 2007 by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

Harvey/ movie review

When I first started watching the Harvey movie, I was about to switch programs, because I found it a little bit too old fashioned. In fact, I am glad I didn’t.

Through its actor James Steward in the role of Elwood P. Dowd, the movie raises the theme of madness. There is often a fine line between a so called normal individual and his crazy, original fellow. The definition of the state of madness varies from individual to individual and from psychiatrist to psychiatrist.

Elwood P is an individual who seems to be normal in appearance: he is nice, well behaved, willing to help and is rich of an altruist spirit.

Although he is never shown drinking in the movie, he is supposed to be a compulsive drinker.

In fact, Elwood lives in an imaginary world: his best friend is a pooka, a mythological creature, a 6 feet tall rabbit called Harvey. Does that make a dangerous individual of him? Probably not, but what bothers Elwood P s sister, Veta Louise Simmons (Josephine Hull) is the fact that Elwood P wants to introduce his buddy to her intimate circle of friends.

One day, she decides to take some concrete action and to get her brother looked up into a psychiatric hospital. The irony of the situation is that the doctor strongly believes she is the one who is hiding some big mental problems and decides to have her in his institution as his patient.

After a few misunderstandings and getting to meet Elwood P Dowd, the doctor realizes his mistake. As Veta Louise Simmons walks free from the hospital, everybody from doctor in chief to nurse is chasing Elwood P in order to get him captured.

The doctor is convinced that his case is a real strong mental case that needs to be treated.

Elwood P. is even willing to receive his treatment, an injection that will help preventing him from seeing his imaginary white rabbit. The treatment gets stopped by miracle in the last minute thanks to a taxi driver who makes Veta Louise realize that after the medical treatment his brother will resemble an average, normal individual, probably in all his indifference and coldness towards the outside world.

Elwood P might be a weirdo, he is also a man of heart with an exceptional kindness. His sister doesn t want to see those qualities disappear. She stops the treatment at the last minute and takes her brother home.

She is willing to live her daily life with Harvey, as long as there are no disturbances in the family s happiness. Harvey s invisible presence is now part of the family s history and you can see it in a loving rocking chair at the end of the movie while Elwood P and his sister are playing at the piano.

Elwood P is a touching character, that mostly raises a lot of sympathy among the viewers.

The movie leaves us all with an essential interrogation: is it better to be a cold, rational and ordinary individual that calculates each move in his life rather than a heartfelt, warm person with a widespread imagination and some living fantasies in his mind?

Should Elwood P. be judged as a fool, I d prefer his madness and warmth to the coldness and hypocrisy of many so called normal people to society s standards.
Maybe the morality of the movie is that having heart shouldn t be counted as nothing.

Harvey is an excellent movie, that goes back to 1950. Don t let its old fashioned ways prevent you from watching it, it is really worth it! I recommend it to all of you.

Copyright© 2007 by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

Frantic is a French-American movie that takes place in the Paris of the late 80 s.

The viewer will recognize Roman Polanski s specific touch: the movie is suspenseful and full of mystery.

Doctor Walker, an American citizen, comes to Paris with his wife Sondra for a medical conference. While he is showering at his luxury hotel, his wife suddenly disappears, leaving her husband clueless. After some further investigations and the testimony of several witnesses, Dr Walker realizes that his dear wife has been kidnapped.

Facing trouble with the usual administrative slowness and lack of seriousness, Dr Walker decides to proceed to his own investigation. His only clue: the luggage that has been mixed up by mistake and that was supposed to be his wife s. Dr Walker opens it, in search for an address or a phone number, which leads him to the Blue Parrot ( a bar), where he is looking for Dede, the man mentioned on the box of matches contained in the suitcase.

After a quite comical scene during which Dr Walker s words are mistaken and a client proposes him to find the White Lady (another name for cocaine), Dr Walker eventually manages to get Dede s address. But it is too late to talk to Dede: the man is lying dead on the floor, in a bloodbath.

Coming out of Dede s appartment, Dr Walker meets Michelle, the young girl that is indirectly linked to Walker s wife s kidnapping.

Dr Walker and Michelle are bent together for a succession of life threatening adventures, including the recuperation of a little statue of liberty from Michelle s suitcase that accidentally landed on the roof.

The movie has a happy ending with a tragic note: Walker will manage to recuperate his wife, but a bullet will cut young Michelle s life short near the Seine.

Two actors, Harrison Ford in the role of Walker, and Emmanuelle Seigner in the role of Michelle, are excellent in their interpretation. The dramatic dimension of the movie is compensated with some good notes of humor.

Globally, the movie is highly enjoyable.

People who are fluent in English and French will certainly enjoy the French/ American cultural mix up in a Parisian atmosphere. This film is truly a must see!

Copyright © 2007 by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

Drug Store Cowboy is a movie that came out in 1989. Directed by Gus Van Sant, the movie tells the story of a young drug addict, Bob, his girlfriend Dianne and their two friends, Rick and his underage girlfriend Nadine.
Like Slim Shady, Bob has tested all kind of drugs. The film starts on a description of a colorful, rich of sensations trip and allows the viewer to travel through Bob s mind. Bob s head is full of floating pills, butterflies and probably looks like bubbles of Champaign moving up and down in a fine cup.
When he enters his world of addiction, he can feel cool and minimize problems.

Gradually, the story becomes a dramatic thriller during which our quattuor s aim is to rob a maximum of pharmacies and drug stores in order to stock and use as many drugs as possible.

Bob s witty mind allows him to get hold of the most dangerous substances he is keen on injecting himself and sharing with his friends. Nadine, who participates to most robberies, is a little bit frustrated and upset, because Bob doesn t allow her to use the same dose of drugs than his fellows. Because of her huge appetite for the forbidden substances, Nadine will pay the high price of her life.

The funny side of the movie is certainly Bob s unreasoned fear of hats. He believes that hats are a curse in his life and that whoever puts a hat on a bed will put a bad curse on him. Ironically, Nadine who wanted to play with Bob s insane superstitions and was eventually found dead and a brown hat was lying on the bed when Bon, Rick and Dianne came home.

As Bob manages to escape from a huge patrol of police at his motel with Nadine s dead body and manages to bury Nadine without being seen by the authorities, he promises God to give up drugs and to amend himself, if the Lord gives him a chance.

Bob accepts to live in a therapeutic appartment and to sign for a methadone program.
However, destiny is a bitch. A former drug dealer finds Bob and shoots him.

On the way to the hospital, Bob feels relieved. He thinks that things are going to be ok, since he “paid his debt to the hat” (the curse has been accomplished).

The movie ends up with an interrogation. Will Bob live? If he lives, will he stop taking drugs?

I liked the movie, because Matt Dillon is very convincing in his role. I also liked the colorful descriptions and multiple sensations derived from taking drugs drawn by Gus Van Sant.
To all of you who like suspenseful thrillers, I d strongly advice you to have a look at Gus Van Sant s movie.

Copyright© 2007 by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved