Revisiting a film I last watched 8 years ago, during which time my tastes have changed and developed a hell of a lot. (I cringe re-reading old reviews from back then, especially stuff I rated 5 stars like the two missives that are still my most-liked reviews. Ugh.)
Back then, I wrote "it's far from an enjoyable watch; a relentlessly bleak tale following the trails of a miserable, sardonic, antagonistic, unhinged arsehole who loves pushing people's buttons and riling them…
March Around the World 2019 - Belgium (8/30)
Marion Cotillard's performance is truly incredible in this beautiful film. Aided by the concise, powerful storytelling of the Dardenne brothers and universally excellent supporting performances, she is absolutely stellar as the film's lead, Sandra.
So emotionally honest and deeply felt, subtle but so resonant, through heartbreak, self-pity & self-loathing, exhaustion, guilt, turmoil and anguish, but with such strength, resolve and ultimate conviction winning out. It's a staggering, pitch-perfect performance in an all-round incredible…
March Around the World 2023 - Taiwan (14/30)
Watched this straight after Monsoon Wedding which made for an apt double bill. Won me over quite quickly with a great introduction to the central characters: the cute couple of Wai-Tung, a Taiwanese immigrant, closeted to his family, and Simon, his loving, sweet partner, and their feisty tenant, struggling artist Wei-Wei. His family is determined to arrange him a marriage, she needs a green card to avoid being deported. And so, with…
March Around the World 2023 - India (13/30)
Indian weddings look so beautiful and exhausting in equal measure. So colourful and charming and effervescent, a delight to watch the scenes of joyous dancing, singing and celebration.
Set over the three-day celebrations of an arranged marriage, with all the joy, chaos and fracas that comes with the merging of two massive extended families. The film paints a terrific picture of all the interpersonal conflicts and drama around a wedding of this…
It's amazing how a film that follows just two people talking for eighty minutes is so utterly captivating. But the beautiful and tender romance between Jesse and Celine is so easily watchable and deeply engrossing, aided by their honest, naturalistic dialogue.
Whereas Before Sunrise focused on youthful spontaneity, Sunset finds the two rediscovering each other nine years later, bruised and cautious, but the unmistakeable spark is still there. It's bittersweet watching them slowly open up, joking around their true feelings,…
So God was creating man, all right? And his little assistant came up to him and he said, "hey, we've got all these bodies left, but we're right out of brains, we're right out of hearts and we're right out of vocal chords." And God said, "fuck it, sew 'em up anyway. Smack smiles on their faces and make 'em talk out their arses." And lo, God created the Tory party.
