Hi everyone,
The festival once again has come up with some true films that I won’t forget soon. While there is a small chance they could show up at the end of this week, consider making notes as they could show up at the Cedar Lee or Cinematheque. My top favorites so far…
Broken. Yes, the story about dysfunctional familes has been done before, but this film was better than that. The lead, a young lady barely in her teens, was so quite real in her performance. It also gets the message across without making you uncomfortable or too preachy. If you have the opportunity, don’t miss it. 4 1/2* out of 5.
The Deep. This Norwegian true story was about a man who was the lone survivor on a capsized fishing boat where the water temperature was 40 degrees and outside air was only 27 degrees. He swam 6 hours to safety. Interestingly, the last 1/3 of the film investigated how he could have survived the water that long. They raise plenty of questions but never find the answer. ****
Orheim company. I hope I am not setting a trend with another dysfunctional family story. Sure, an alcoholic father beating his wife sounds very depressing, but you begin to learn more about the mother and son who ultimately prevail. ****
So I had an open slot and the only film not sold out was the French-Belgian punker Le Grand Soir. It turned out to be a very funny film. The theater was less than half full, probably due to an unattractive picture in the advertisement. It follows one brother who loses his job and decides to join his punk rock brothers in causing hilarious mayhem. Four days later, I still chuckle about this film. ***1/2
Blondie. After seeing this film, many in the audience felt let down because the write up implied a quirky, happy family, NOT a a sad and even angry movie in parts. But this Swedish melodrama really confirmed that money, beauty and an all around easy life doesn’t guarantee happiness. It is showing one more time on Sunday morning at 9PM. ***1/2.
I hope to see many of you this week coming up.
http://www.meetup.com/clevelandfilm/
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