Drowning by Numbers

One of the highlights in the oeuvre of Peter Greenaway (‘The Cook, the Thief…’, ‘Pillow Book’). ‘Drowning by numbers’ is in many aspects a remarkable movie. It’s the captivating story of three women, who each have their own way to kill their men. A film full of anecdotes, things worth knowing, bizarre games and peculiar […]

Ichi the killer

In the category ultra-violent Japanese ‘Yakuza-movies’ has Miike Takashi (‘Audition’) made an attempt to produce the ultimate masterpiece. Especially inventive torture scenes, detailed slaughterings, the most sadistic crook in film history and a large dose of black humour. ‘Ichi the killer’ is completely over-the-top!

Irréversible

The most controversial movie of 2002. Gaspar Noe shows the story of a man who takes revenge on the guy who raped his girlfriend. So this movie has two extremely shocking, violent and disturbing scenes. The camera work, which is at times deleric and disorientating, and the hypnotizing soundtrack make this movie an unforgettable watching […]

Tout va bien on s’en va

A beautiful and moving film about family-ties. Director Mourieras (also known for ‘Dis-moi que je reve’) knows how to avoid the traps of cliches and false sentiments in a professional manner. The film tells about three sisters, Laure, Beatrice and Claire, who are living a smooth, problemless life. The sudden appearance, after fifteen years of […]

Welcome to the Dollhouse

The movie that Todd Solondz made before the bewildering ‘Happiness’. ‘Welcome to the Dollhouse’ is again a biting satire on the American family life. The main character is a touching adolescent girl, who is struggling with her family, her classmate and mainly with herself. Extremely painful and extremely funny!

Nine Queens

A masterly movie about betraying and being betrayed. It was called the South-American version of ‘Pulp Fiction’, but that is not completely justified. But it certainly is a nice, fresh movie with excellent actors and sudden turns in the plot, which only just refrain from being over-the-top…

Avalon

In a desolate near future, a couple of young people get involved in a dangerous war simulation game called ‘Avalon’. Ash turns out to be a very strong player, and little by little she gets further and further entangled into the game?The Japanese director Mamoru Oshii ( Ghost in the Shell) shot the whole movie […]

Festen

Yesterday I watched ‘Festen’ on video, I taped it from television last week. I saw it in the cinema already, but I did not mind seeing this masterpiece again. Of course the surprise effect, an important element of the film, was gone the second time, but I felt almost the same tension. Festen tells the […]

Abouna

A pleasing African movie, a Chad/France co-production to be precise. The story of Abouna (‘Our Father’) is rather dramatic and moving. A father of two little boys disappears. Amine and Tahir try to find him, which brings them into some trouble. Their mother can’t take care of them. They are sent to a strict religious […]

Tadpole

This film was described as a light romantic comedy and certainly not my first choice when I visited a film festival. But since many alternatives were sold out, I decided to give it a try. And I must say, I was certainly not disappointed, Tadpole was better than expected and quite entertaining. It’s a rather […]

Fear X

A unworldy security agent, masterly played by John Torturro, is obsessed to find the murderer of his wife. The murder has been filmed by a security camera, and he tries to find clues in the rather vague images. The closer he gets to finding the offender, the more questions arise about the reasons behind the […]

1/2 Miete

A hacker decides to run away, after the suicide of his paranoid girlfriend. He is afraid that the police will discover his illegal practices. In order to find a place to sleep he breaks into the houses of several people. A bizarre but also moving relationship develops between the lonely inhabitants and the mysterious burglar, […]

Celine

Quite a different type of movie than Brisseau’s ‘Choses secretes’, but the camerawork is again quite captivating. The story tells about a female village doctor, who finds a very confused girl on the street one morning. She takes the girl with her to home, where she can’t leave her alone for a second, because she […]

Choses Secretes

Nicely stylished erotic film about two girlfriends, who are taking advantage of rich businessmen, using their bodies as instruments to quickly reach top functions. Everything runs smoothly, until they meet an ‘opponent’ who is a little too strong. Things begin too go wrong and even their friendship is put heavily to the test. Brisseau has […]

Mon-rak Transistor

Camp from Thailand! This film harbours numerous different styles, like comedie, candysweet drama, musical and adventure movie. It manages to convince through the beautiful camera shots and the human story, in which bad luck is an often recurring theme. A short draft of the story: A man has to join the army, forcing him to […]

Le Fils

Again a highly intense movie by the Dardenne brothers, who earlier created ‘La Promesse’ and ‘Rosetta’. This new film also has the now well-known, hand-held jarring camerawork, which goes almost underneath the skin of the main characters. The protagonist of ‘Le Fils’ has lost his small son in a tragic manner, during a failed theft […]

Two Days

A failed actor decides to commit suicide and to registrate the last two days before his death with a videcamera. He arranges some friends who will film him. Meanwhile people are dealing with the question if they are going to stop him and how… Ex-girlfriends, good friends, his father and mother are all getting recruited. […]

La Haine

‘La Haine’ (‘The Hate’) is a raw and hard movie, which really impressed me when I saw it some 7 years ago, and now on dvd it remains a good film, full of tension. It describes the daily life of the local youth in a multicultural, grim suburb of Paris, dominated by unemployment and crime. […]

Wilde

Oscar Wilde is of course a grateful subject for a movie: still a well-known writer, controversial in his time (around 1900) for his homosexuality, his flamboyant lifestyle and his ‘immoral’ plays. This ‘biopic’ focuses on his passion for younger men, despite being married. Especially his love for young ‘Bosie’ is of great importance in his […]

Hable con Ella (Talk to Her)

The most tranquil film by Pedro Almodovar so far, but also his best one. The story tells about Benigno and Barco, who accidentally meet in a hospital. Benigno is the male nurse of a young gril who is lying in a coma, while Marco visits his girlfriend. She is a professional bull-fighter, who has been […]