Reviews

This b&w film is engraved in my memory.

The producer told her audience at the Guanajuato International Film Festival (Mexico) that finding funding for a b&w film took a long time. How wise she and the director were to hold out because b&w gives the film its period feel (the events occur 1961-62).

The story, occasionally too linear, is believable overall, at times all too believable. Its subtext: coming of age, Communism's excesses in Poland, peasant-Jewish relations during the Holocaust, worldliness vs. faith. And yes, they all work.

The aunt is played by a justly renowned Polish actress, the novice nun by an amateur who despite the film's success in Poland doesn't want to continue to act.

I don't want to spill over into spoilers, will sum up by saying that viewers will see a complex film simply told, set during Poland's painful post-war years and a no-holds-barred look at how various Poles treated Jews during the Second World War.

Ida played to large audiences in Poland where the film was generally praised, despite receiving flak from a few detractors as either anti-Polish or anti-Jewish, a fact reinforcing my view that the film owes part of its power to avoiding stereotypes. A compelling, technically excellent film worth the care lavished on it.

I came into this movie several minutes late so missed the opening scene of the waving grass but I can imagine it. Herzog evoked in an uncanny way what it feels like to be at the mercy of people you don't understand and who don't understand you, in other words a crazy situation that has its own rules. I know I was taken back to a buried time in my life that had never surfaced before.

How did Herzog do it? By his choice of Bruno S, of course; by the brilliant work of his cameraman; by his depiction of 19th Century German society and its conventions; through the music. I could keep on.

Why then a nine? Maybe because I don't know German (although I think the version I saw with Spanish subtitles was probably excellent), maybe because I thought during the last few minutes the balance between perception and realism was upset. The ending shot? Perhaps like the end to a Shakespeare play, reminding us that what we have seen was an artifice made from a historical event.

Forty years after it was made, still an unforgettable film.

Forget the favelas of Rio, this film has the texture of the everyday life (or at least everyday emotions) of a retired policeman whose past haunts him. Antonio Fagundes as the policeman and the two actresses who play prostitutes are credible throughout. The photography and rhythm of the film contribute to making this a superior film. The movie has a political subtext both past and present that take it beyond the apparent story. This was one of two Brazilian films I saw with Spanish subtitles at a film festival recently. The other, Alice's House, won an award at the festival. This one didn't but it sticks in my memory because of the characterization, underscored by subtle lighting. The end is in the tradition of the famed Brazilian writer Machado de Assis. I think even dubbed the film would be engrossing.

I saw this film at the Festival de Cine Nuevo Latinoamericano in a city we're not supposed to visit. The taxi-driver character links the two parts of the film when at the end of the first tale he appears and sees a young woman and a preteen boy embracing.

The first story showing what leads to that embrace is a slice of life, most of it taking place in a Mexico City supermarket. On its own, I'd rate it a 7.

In the second half of the film, we watch the taxi-driver chauffeuring an unmistakably unlikeable passenger. When the guy collapses, the driver takes him to a hospital where the busy staff keeps pushing the driver into inappropriate responsibility. Soon we see him entering the rich man's apartment where he tries on the man's leather jacket and begins a double life--the most involving part of the film. The plot thickens when the man's young daughter knocks on the door. I won't spoil the rest, will just say throughout I felt glued to my seat.

What a surprise when the credits showed the film was written by Paula Markovitch who did the wonderful low-budget Woody-Allen-style film Temporada de Patos. Keep your eye out for films in which Paula is involved. I would rate the second part a 10 if it stood on its own.

Believe it or not, this was the first film I watched completely on video (17" monitor). I couldn't have picked a better choice. I was surprised, though, that the long-and mid-range shots came across better than closeups. The one scene in the film I found unconvincing was Justin's confrontation with Sandy in the garden. It looked stagy.

I had read LeCarre's book so was alert for the portrayal of the diplomatic community, which turned out to be one of the strengths of the film. Seems as if British spy novelists delight in showing their government as corrupt and bowing to special interests. I'm not objecting.

As I don't watch TV, I became much more interested in Africa after seeing The Constant Gardener, not only for its portrayal of the people in the desert and Kenyan towns but also for the view of middle-class and upper-class Mexicans. Now I won't skip over news of Africa.

I thought the script and direction were true to the spirit of the novel. Seemed to me the end scene where Justin is sitting by the lake reflected his grieving as well as, perhaps, his sense that he too would not escape. Ralph Fiennes was acting every minute, I know because I watched some scenes several times.

One other comment, I am from the US but saw this film in the original English with Spanish subtitles and was very aware how differently Americans and Brits speak.

the funniest scenes are in the second story when the couple having difficulties go to visit relatives who have a new baby. The admiration the baby receives is so exaggerated, the disgust . . . well no point in spoiling it. Most of the audience when I went were young Mexicans who were identifying with the characters in the first story but I didn't get hooked until the second one. The problems with parking guards who give fines, arrange for cars to be hauled off etc was probably funnier to the Italian audience but traveled well across the border. The "moral" of the last story was one I wish I'd learned sooner. All in all a very enjoyable evening's entertainment.

I did have one problem, telling the many tall, dark-haired male characters apart. May have been partly so confused because I saw the movie with Spanish subtitles. It was quite a relief when One character was wearing glasses and obviously and obviously wasn't to be confused with anyone else.

I have to admit an infatuation with Ozpetek's use of color, including the clothes the beautiful main female character wore, the many scenes highlighting the Italian love of food, even the glimpses of the affluent life led by Antonia.

Even though once Antonia began her search she didn't seem to keep regular work hours anymore, I thought the scenes that showed her as a professional were a convincing portrayal of a woman physician.

The movie is based on an usual triangle or maybe an unusual polygon if the male characters are included in the count. It is a straightforward telling of what happens in the life of two sisters in their late twenties more or less except... and the except is that along with real life, we see the fantasied versions of events as the older sister, a romance writer, imagines them. The use of a stage set background for the fantasies sets them apart from the real events in the sisters' lives.

Although technically, the movie is very straightforward, the use of music -- the younger sister is a cellist -- heightens almost every scene. A male violin soloist becomes part of the younger sister's real and imagined life (her fantasies are not made visible) and in fact knowing him changes her life in a way she doesn't expect. I keep thinking about the paradoxical but plausible view of her situation. Maybe the older sister's destiny is less plausible but, hey, the movie is billed as a comedy.

Salome Blechmans is a marvel in this movie. I could watch her evolve from a young teenaged girl to a more seasoned one. The story may not seem very realistic because of the compression of time but as a look at the everyday life of a Parisian family with teen aged son and daughter, it's fascinating.

For people who like vicarious travel, the bus scenes, the school scenes, the interior of Bebe's house, and the rhythm of her day are right there in front of you. The lighting and photography of the indoor scenes are marvelous, why not, the director (and Salome Blechman's father) is well known for his other cinematic work. All the outdoor shots I remember look as if they were shot on the same overcast day, but for me that was a detail. The movie didn't seem like a telenovela (soap opera), it seemed like life.

The voice-over reading from the girl's diary at the end went too fast for me to follow in the subtitles, so that the ending was blurred for me. Probably for viewers who understand French, this would not be a problem.

Although I saw this documentary under unfavorable circumstances (in Portuguese, with Spanish subtitles), it remains in my mind and heart. Based on well-edited clips from interviews with nineteen visually impaired people, some totally blind, others with serious but correctable vision difficulties--many of the people interviewed famous for their accomplishments--the film reveals ways that perceptual problems can shape rather than wreck people's lives.

The interviews with a Brazilian fisherman, Nobel prizewinning Portuguese writer Jose Saramago, and a self-accepting woman artist who has taken advantage of her blurred vision in her work have stayed in my mind's eye. I learned that Oliver Sacks, whose books are packed with intelligence and emotion but not visual detail, has had severe myopia since birth.

IMDb readers may be most interested in hearing what Wim Wenders and Agnes Varda have to say. The film, 73 minutes long, is available in a version with English subtitles.

I was part of a family audience in Guanajuato when I saw this. Great scenes of the city, great mummies with decomposing faces. Almost a spoof, none of the children around me seemed scared. Includes scenes of the seamy side of Guanajuato. Techniques borrowed from all over the place, technically good for a low budget film. After reading the other review, I know why lucha libre played such a prominent part in the film.

The one child actor wasn't up to snuff but his presence probably adds to the appeal of the plot for children.

Two beautiful Mexican actresses of very different physical types and a midget guide to the museum stood out in the cast.

Fortunately I had the opportunity to see this film in Mexico. Its powerful recreation of an actual event was underscored by its sympathetic portrayal of everyday life in Northern Ireland. I was impressed that the violence on screen was limited to the explosion. The sequencing of the movie was outstanding, beginning with the assassins driving through the hills to Omagh, shifting to a father and son working together in the town, and then into the center of the town itself. Although the locale was one small town, of course its theme applies to all too many parts of the world these days. One interesting detail is that the faces looked familiar but that isn't surprising because many Americans are descended from the Scotch-Irish who settled in Northern Ireland.

I walked into this film 10 minutes late, saw it without subtitles, and only realized afterward that the commentators were the actors thirty years later. Even so I enjoyed the film immensely and it left me thinking about how much is too much. Because of the language problem (I live in Mexico but have enough hearing loss that movie sound doesn't come through well to me), most of the effect of the movie came through the outstanding cinematography and pacing. Spain is a country that has a recent history of atentados (political murders) so I wonder what Spaniards think of Noviembre. As an outsider, besides the plot and texture of the movie, I welcomed the shots of Madrid but what I liked most was the portrayal of the young energy of the street theater company. After seeing the film I felt older, wiser, and wish I could see it again.

If you want to have a good time, go to this movie. Notice I didn't feel impelled to be pretentious and say film. This black and white movie is like a Woody Allen film but with at least two of the characterizations more three-dimensional. I won't ever forget the excitement of sitting in the front row of a 1200 person theater and hearing everyone laugh at once. And the excitement or of seeing video games widescreen just a few feet away--I was on the edge of my seat. Another great scene: watching whether the pizza deliveryman would beat the clock as he raced to the top floor of the apartment building. And then there was the visiting neighbor girl who could give Diane Keaton a run for the money. The key to this wonderful comedy in its perfect timing. After the movie which I saw at the Festival of Cortometraje in Guanajuato, Mexico, I met Paula Markevich, who polished the script. She told me she kept changing lines while she watched the boys rehearse. A film made with tenderness, humor and care. Enjoy, enjoy!