A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT

Detective story
In French with English subtitles
Original title: Un long dimanche de fiançailles

BACKGROUND
Since war began, armies have had to deal with the practice among soldiers of self-mutilation called malingering. Upon being wounded, the soldiers would be taken away from the front lines to a Casualty Clearing Station and given proper medical care for their “injuries”. The penalty for those found guilty of this “act of cowardice in the face of the enemy” was death. The sentence was usually carried out by a firing squad, but in the case of the French army during the First World War, those found guilty were forced to go out into No-Man's Land. This was virtually an assured death sentence.

In the first major engagement of WWI, the German army failed in their objective to force France into an early surrender. Rather than give up the territory they had won, the Germans dug in to protect themselves from the guns of the Allies. The French army mounted a counter attack but was unable to regain the lost territory. So they followed the German example and developed an elaborate system of trench lines as well. A No-Man’s Land in-between the trench lines became a wasteland of craters and blackened tree stumps. It was normally around 250 yards wide and anyone sent into No-Man’s Land had little hope of survival.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Audrey Tautou: Mathilde, orphaned young woman living in a tiny Brittany village
Gaspard Ulliel: Manech, her fiancé who gets drafted to serve in the war
Dominique Pinon: her kindly uncle Sylvain
Chantal Neuwirth: her aunt Benedicte
Ticky Holgado: Germain Pire, private detective
Jodie Foster: Polish wife of a serviceman

REVIEW
This is a good old-fashioned detective story set amidst the backdrop of war. Mathilde wants to find out if her fiancé is still alive following the cessation of hostilities. With flashbacks of their youth and his service in the army, it is also an historical overview of that period. Perhaps a half-hour too long, it is nevertheless an entertaining movie if you can stomach the graphic scenes of war.

CLASSIFICATION
for sexuality (more than a few naked sex scenes) and violence (related to the war)

P.S.
One of the trenches is nicknamed Bingo Crepuscule: the literal translation, “Bingo dusk”, makes no sense to me.

BITTERSWEET MEMORIES

Biography
In French with English subtitles
Original title: Ma vie en cinemascope

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Pascale Bussières: Alys Robi, nee Alice Robitaille, born 1923
Serge Postigo: Oliver Guimond, vaudeville stage performer and Alys’ first lover
Denis Bernard: Lucio Agostini, well known orchestra leader

REVIEW
The movie spans the career of the first female French-Canadian to achieve international stardom. Even at the age of seven when she first performed in public, she had her eyes on the future. She chose her stage name “because it will be easier for Hollywood producers to pronounce when I make it big time”. She became famous for her Latin American repertoire with hits such as 'Tico-Tico', 'Amor, Amor', 'Besame mucho' and 'Jalousie’. It’s a very entertaining film with great singing throughout.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
Up until 1979, Quebec license plates had to be replaced each year. The plate was valid for and could only be used during the year it was issued. During the movie year 1948 Alys gets into a black Ford having an illegal out-of-date 1944 license plate.

P.S.
The original title of the movie comes from the song based on her life sung by Diane Dufresne called "Alys in cinemascope"

FINDING NEVERLAND

Drama

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Johnny Depp: James Mathew Barrie, successful playwright
Dustin Hoffman: Charles Frohman, producer
Radha Mitchell: Barrie’s wife Mary
Kate Winslet: widow Sylvia Llewellyn Davies
Freddie Highmore: Peter, the oldest of Sylvia’s four sons
Julie Christie: Mrs. Emma du Maurier, Sylvia’s mother

REVIEW
This is a pleasant story about one man who has an active imagination and how it has made a significant contribution to literature. By cleverly interweaving the words of J.M. Barrie with actual scenes from the finished play we get to see how ideas come to fruition. The acting throughout is excellent, especially from some of the boys.

CLASSIFICATION
for mild thematic elements and brief language.

P.S.
According to the promotional material, the movie is "based on true events" which probably means they have taken some liberty with the facts.

COLLATERAL

Police thriller

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Jada Pinkett Smith: Annie Farrell, a Federal Prosecutor
Jamie Foxx: Max Durocher, a Los Angeles cab driver
Tom Cruise: Vincent, self-professed real estate broker
Mark Ruffalo: Fanning, an undercover LAPD detective

REVIEW
This is an entertaining fast paced “cops and robbers” type movie. With enough time spent to develop the characters of the principals, we get to better understand what drives people to do what they do. Although somewhat predictable, there are enough twists to keep you guessing.

CLASSIFICATION
for violence and language: this is hardly warranted as there are many films rated PG with much worse

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
1. Vincent and Max are seen washing the smashed windshield but that’s all they do to repair the damage to the taxi cab; somehow duct tape to hold it together got on the roof sign of the taxi by itself. After that, the tape changes position, sometimes looking like an Y and other times like a backward L.
2. The location of the windshield damage to the cab Vincent is riding in is not always in the same place.
3. Detective Fanning comments that the person they are looking for either jumped or fell from the fourth floor; there are only three floors in that building.
4. When Vincent and Max are talking to the owner of the jazz bar there are four glasses on the table. Despite the fact no one even approaches them when they leave there are five.
5. While Annie is in the 16th floor library talking on the phone with Max, Vincent is in her office and checks to see what phone line she is using. The label reads: “15th floor records”.
6. When Vincent runs down the stairs, we see he exits out through the door marked floor number 3. Once past the door it is apparent he’s in the lobby instead.
7. After Vincent gets shot, the left shoulder of his suit jacket is covered with blood; shortly thereafter the stains have mostly disappeared and only a few wisps remain.
8. A nine-bullet magazine is the biggest available for a Colt 45; Vincent at one point fires off at least a dozen before having to reload.

P.S.
I think the film title should be changed to Collateral Damage.
From the Oxford dictionary, collateral damage is “during war the unintentional deaths and injuries of people who are not soldiers, and damage that is caused to their homes, hospitals, schools.” These are the things that happen during the movie.
By contrast collateral is “valuable property owned by someone who wants to borrow money which they agree will become the property of the company or person who lends the money if the debt is not paid back”. This concept does not even come up for discussion and not germane to the movie at all.

CLOSER

Drama

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Natalie Portman: Alice, a former stripper
Jude Law: Dan, an obituary writer for a London newspaper
Julia Roberts: Anna, a professional photographer
Clive Owen: Larry, a dermatologist

REVIEW
This one is a real shocker so be prepared.

It starts off pleasantly enough, but 30 minutes into the film two of the principals engage in explicit cybersex. Then it gets worse, much worse. Along with the dialog becoming even more vulgar, we get to see some really cruel people. They behave badly and hurt their partners, either by their actions or from the questions hurled at them.

The acting throughout is top notch which makes you forget you’re watching a movie: instead you feel like you’re overhearing your neighbours argue and yell at each other about their latest dalliances. It is emotionally draining and not a pretty sight.

CLASSIFICATION
for frequent use of strong sexual profanity and crude sexual slang terms, as well as explicit sexual talk, female nudity, sexual contact, drug content and one scene of violence.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
1. Larry is a lefty but signs some documents with his right hand.
2. When Alice is lying on the bed, between shots her camisole shifts from being partway up her stomach and creased in the middle to being properly pulled down all nice and neat.

P.S.
When it is released on DVD, I expect it will be an X rated film available in the “Adults Only” section where they keep pornographic films.

RAY

Biography

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Jamie Foxx: Ray Charles Robinson
Sharon Warren: his mother Aretha
Kerry Washington: his wife Della Bea
Aunjanue Ellis: Mary Ann Fisher, a blues singer
Regina King: Margie Hendricks, member of Ray's backup group The Raelettes

REVIEW
An excellent portrayal of one of the key artists who was instrumental in changing music as we know it today. Jamie Foxx’s performance is so good you think you’re watching the real thing. The film doesn’t gloss over the fact Ray Charles was something less than a perfect husband…we get to see him as he really was. For fans of Ray Charles the sound track alone will be reason enough to see the film.

CLASSIFICATION
for depiction of drug addiction, sexuality and some thematic elements.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
While talking to Ray in their home, Bea’s necklace is off to one side. When the scene shifts to a close-up, it’s now nicely centered.

While recording Georgia, Ray Charles is listening using only the right earphone. Between cuts, the other earphone moves by itself to being part way on or completely off his left ear.

P.S.
It’s a long movie (2½ hours) so stock up before going into the theatre.

ŽEALARY

Drama based on true facts
In Czech, Russian and German with English subtitles

BACKGROUND
In 1918 the Austro-Hungarian Empire was split up creating a new country with Prague as its capital. The name of the country came from its two major ethnic groups: the seven million Czechs and two million Slovaks. In March 1939, the famous Munich Pact was signed. This appeasement policy of the Western powers granted Germany the right to enter Czechoslovakia. The country remained under Nazi occupation until liberated by Soviet troops in 1944.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Anna Geislerova: Eliska, a Prague city nurse active in the anti-German resistance movement
Gyorgy Cserhalmi: Joza, resident of Želary and a patient in the hospital where she works

REVIEW
More than a war story, the movie is about two people having to make major changes in their life in order to go on living. Their friendship develops at a nice slow pace, allowing us to get to know them and the people they are in contact with. A little long at 2½ hours, it would benefit from tighter editing.

CLASSIFICATION
for some pretty tame violence and very brief partial nudity done in good taste. In my view, totally unwarranted.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
Before turning out the light, Eliska -now known as Hana- carefully places a pair of sharp scissors beneath her pillow. When she awakens in the morning, the scissors are on the night table beside her.
When Hana gets married in the town of Žealry she wears a wedding band on the fourth finger of her left hand. However, in some scenes it is on the middle finger and when picking berries in the forest, it is on her right hand.