Elle

Note: spoilers So, what is this film? It stands in the middle of being a plot driven and a character driven film. I might even be wrong. I don't really know what to make of it. When you screaming 'what the hell is happening' every five minutes on the screen, your thoughts about it are mostly up in the air. If you dissect it - acting, dialogue, cinematography, editing, sound, direction - and find that the factors compliment each other, why am I not raving about it? I'm confused with what I've seen, and I don't think I would revisit this film at all.

I Killed My Mother

I Killed My Mother is my first foray to Xavier Dolan’s filmography – and I think this movie only gets good at the last five minutes, but those five minutes are enough to change my mind about it. This might be a case of over thinking things, but the beauty of the film only makes sense once all the pieces are together, and that does happen towards the end of this film.

Amelie

I was clearing out my drafts folder (I'm one of those people with impossible inboxes) when I unearthed this old review of Amelie I wrote a few years ago and never got around to publishing. I did end up editing this a bit, but I wanted to preserve my original thoughts on the film, so here is a slightly updated version of the review.

The Five Obstructions

When the film appeared on my watch list a few days ago, I was immediately reminded of a blogathon I joined some time back. Here was a chance to see the film that inspired the blogathon, and needless to say, I was impressed. This was fantastic! When I hear the words Lars von Trier, there’s a certain image that goes along with his body of work. I might not be versed with his filmography, but with various articles and films of his circulating around the internet, it’s hard not to make a collective assumption about his work. If I only knew him by this documentary, I would have a different image of the director.

Farewell, My Queen

Cast: Diane Kruger, Lea Seydoux, Virginie Ledoyen
Director: Benoir Jacquot

I spent the last few days of my summer getting lost in the city of Paris, where Versailles is not far off. It has been twice since I entered the castle and yet everything still amazes me. The rooms were beautiful and grand, and despite the French monarch not ending on good terms (does a monarchy even end in good terms?), I have to admit Versailles must be a pretty good place to live in. You can go on and on in the halls (or the vast garden!) looking for someone and you might never find them immediately because the grounds are huge. If I can go live back in time, I think I'd like to experience living in Versailles for a day. I got to see how life in Versailles was through Farewell My Queen. It gives viewers exactly that: a life in the palace surrounded by people from different walks of life. What's striking about it is that it records the historically important moments during the reign of King Louis XVI, which is the storming of the Bastille. It gives a glimpse of the life and politics that goes through the walls of the once (and still) grand palace of Versailles.