NORA'S WILL

José divorced Nora his wife years ago, but he still lives in an apartment building right across from her in Mexico City. One day, he arrives at Nora’s apartment with frozen meat packages that the deliveryman had been instructed to drop off at his place as Nora was out. Jose discovers that she is actually out of it completely as, after some 30 years of attempting suicide, she has finally managed to succeed.  However the process to bury her though turns out to be more difficult than he thinks as Nora is an observant Jew but as this is the eve of Passover she cannot be buried for 4 days.

This kicks of a whole series of comings and going at the Apartment with Jose constantly opening the front door of the stream of visitors. The officious Rabbi Jacowitz swoops in with his Orthodox ream that come to prepare the body and the apartment for the Shiva, but then retracts his help once he discovers the cause of Nora’s death, which means she cannot be buried in a Jewish Cemetery. Unless of course Jose makes a hefty donation to the Synagogue, and then the Rabbi will make an exception. This however is not something that Jose a lapsed Jew, who taunts the Rabbi by offering him  ham pizza, will ever agree to do.

As Jose starts to nose around the apartment he soon learns that Nora had made all arrangements for her traditional Passover dinner with a mountain of Tupperware containers all properly labeled in the refrigerator. She has left detailed recipes for her Maid and has also invited her sister to come help cook. But he also finds something that Nora had left out by accident and its an old photograph of her as a young woman who appears to be having a good time with another man, and suddenly Jose’s attitude to her changes.   He  now goes out of his way to book a Christian burial and when their Funeral Directors turn up, it causes more than a great deal of consternation for the Rabbi’s men.

Eventually Ruben their only son arrives home having cut short his vacation in the USA and he aggravates the situation further by trying to appease his conservative Jewish father-in-law rather than support Jose.

Billed as a black comedy (!) this gentle very human drama focuses on the family dynamics once its matriarch dies suddenly.  What makes the story so engaging is that newbie writer/director Mariana Chenillo focuses on the roles that Nora played in their lives rather than who she was as a person, or on the rather grisly subject of suicide itself.  The very fact that she had planned her demise so meticously helped her family accept that it was really what she wanted to choose, although Jose still believed that Nora took this path purely to spite them all.

There are no histrionics or melodrama in the telling of the story which is underscored by some fine well-rounded characters, particularly the gruff no-nonses Jose played by veteran actor Fernando Luján who picked up an Mexican Oscar for his performance.  In fact when the movie was first released in 2008 it picked up many awards including the Mexican Oscar Best Picture and Ms Chenillo became the first female to win Best Director.

This slow-burning drama with it’s wee touch of mystery was a great find.  I’m just sorry it took me a couple of years to get too it.

★★★★★★★★

ME AT THE ZOO

Asides from the endless slew of instant celebrities that Reality TV tries to force upon us, there is now an onslaught from the Internet when videos go viral. This movie is about one such star, and trust me I use the word 'star' very reluctantly. Chris Crocker was/is an outrageously gay teenager living in the backwoods of Tennessee where his flamboyant behavior meant that he had to skip going to High School to avoid  an inevitable outpouring of violence against him. Abandoned by his mother (who gave birth to him at 14) he was raised by his paternal grandmother who, whilst never understanding her highly strung grandson's many odd penchants like wearing  girls clothes, indulged him nevertheless particularly in his fixation with Brittany Spears.

It was this obsession that made Chris infamous.  He had been making videos of himself either dancing in his bedroom or simply screaming at the camera on any lightweight topic that was on his somewhat twisted mind ever since he got his first computer.  Initially his postings on YouTube got very few hits, but over time he built up a small coterie of fans who loved to either worship him. or mock him with their imitations. At the same time he attracted a great deal of vicious hate mail too. And then it all changed when Ms Spears was evidently pilloried in the media for an excruciatingly piss-poor performance on TV when it seemed obvious that they had released her from Rehab way too early.  Chris's high pitched rant 'Leave Brittany Alone!' went 'viral' and soon had over 40 million hits and as a result the media turned their attention on Chris himself.

This documentary follows Mr Crocker's attempts to parlay all this attention  into something more and he did actually get close to having his own TV show in LA when his unfettered big mouth went just too far and he ended back in Tennessee living with his Saint of a Grandmother, whilst his mother back on meths was living rough on the streets.

I must confess that I went into the movie knowing none of the backstory or even having heard of Chris Crocker, and normally I would have run a mile from anything remotely like tabloid trash. However I must admit though although he did annoy me (more than once) I found the movie totally fascinating.  The fact that we are living in a culture where someone can make so much out of essentially very little real talent intrigues me.  And knowing for a fact that in the end they will just fizzle out and need something else to do when their five minutes under the spotlight is over appeals to my inquisitive nature (nosey even).  In this particular case it would appear that Mr Crocker is now enjoying a new career in 'acting' !  The type that requires you to dispense with a costume and just grunt loudly.

This review has been reprinted from my Sundance 2012 Blog as the movie has now been released and is available on HBO On Demand in the USA.

★★★★★★★★

KLOWN

Hapless Frank has learned that Mia his girlfriend is pregnant, but she is having second thoughts about giving birth, as she seriously doubts Frank’s potential as a father. When he fails the simple test of babysitting Bo his nephew (he leaves him alone in the house when it is being robbed) Frank takes drastic action.  He’s just about to go on a men’s only debauched canoeing trip with his best pal Casper and so he ‘kidnaps’ Bo to prove to Mia that she has got it all wrong about him.

Highly energetic sex-obsessed Casper who has dubbed this as 'The Tour of Pussy' (one of the stops is a high-class private Brothel) is none too pleased to have Bo tagging along, but he eventually agrees even though he doesn't temper his outrageous behavior one little bit, much to the timid boy's discomfort.

At the first campsite they stop at, 40-something-year-old Casper goes to try his luck with a party of high school girls, whilst Bo ends up in tears after being picked on by some bullies.  Frank, considering that this is his first ‘parental’ test clumsily tries to resolve Bo’s problem which is all about him being teased in the bathrooms for having a small penis.  He handles the situation very badly and is accused of being a pervert and the three of them end up being evicted from the campsite in the middle of the night.

Their canoe capsizes and they seek refuge in a nearby house owned by a buxom young woman who offers them towels, pancakes and then herself.  Only Casper accepted all three, which she bitterly regretted the next morning.

Now that both men have both behaved badly in front of Bo they start to panic that he will spill the beans when they get back home and so decide that they only way that can ensure his silence is to get something embarrassing on the boy.  So they  sneak into the tent to surreptitiously take a picture of the sleeping 12 year old’s small penis.

By this point in the movie I have already shouted so many ‘Oh My God’s’ as I stare in sheer disbelief at how inappropriate, to say the very least, that this story is.  And it even gets worse.  Poor Bo is at the mercy of two men not used to looking out for another human being, Casper will drop him at first sight of anyone who will drop their pants for him (and they don’t always have to be female even) and socially awkward Frank is so inept that he could unintentionally do the kid real harm through his negligence.

There are seemingly no limits as to what hijinks they will get up too for a laugh in this extraordinary raunchy comedy that had me both highly mortified with horror AND laughing my head off.  Good taste didn't ever enter the equation. I think the first reaction is from my Brit Methodist upbringing where decency was drummed into us and one would never have laughed at such crass humor, if it ever had even been available then. The story line alone about poor Bo’s appendage could even be considered borderline child molestation, but somehow they manage to make it all seem acceptable and brilliantly funny. Just.

The whole movie is the work of the two highly successful Danish comedians who both wrote and starred in it.  Casper Christensen and Frank Hvam have a hit TV series for 6 seasons also called 'Klown', which is a sort of Danish ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’  and this film was born from that.  And to add another level to its credentials, it has been produced by Lars Van Trier’s company.

About to open here in the US in a limited release and also V.O.D., but when it was shown in Denmark back in 2010 it was the second highest grossing movie of the year (the first was 'Avatar'). Two people who didn't get to see it then were Mr Christensen’s children aged 12 and 14 ….. he is quoted as saying ‘ when I realized that I couldn't show the movie to them, I realized we had gone too far!’

Or had they?  By the time I reached the final scene I was hooked, but then if you a regular reader of my Blog you will appreciate that I do have very catholic tastes.  If you do too, then you should try this.  It is as bizarre as they come.  But very very funny too.

P.S. If you like your humor much more watered down then maybe you’ll be interested in knowing that Hollywood is already working on their sanitized version to be directed by Todd Philips who did 'The Hangover' movies.  I’m so going to pass on that one.

★★★★★★★★

ROMEOS

There are all sorts of ‘Romeos’ in this very innovative and somewhat daring tale about gender identity that is about how very tough it can be just being one’s self.

The setting is a couple of dormitories in Koln, Germany where young adults are based to do a year of social studies. The film opens with Lukas protesting that he has been wrongly allocated a room in the women’s quarters, and the Dorm Supervisor tells him that she will do her best to rectify the situation.  We gradually realize that the confusion has been caused because Lukas is a pre-op transsexual and although taking hormones has not yet had ‘re-alinement’ surgery so is still technically a female.

The only person besides the Supervisor to know this is Ine who was Lukas’s best friend at school when he was still known as Miri (Miriam). Ine is a lesbian and as she includes Lukas in her group when she goes out for fun in the evening, he gets to mix with all her gay friends.  One of them, Fabio, a hot looking very popular young man, takes a shine to Lukas, and much to his surprise he rather fancies Fabio too.  When Fabio tries to make his move, he is therefore very confused when Lukas suddenly turns cold on him.

Lukas goes to great lengths to hide his secret, but he truth about his gender is finally revealed by accident when his family come to visit, and the news is heard by the whole dorm and also by Fabio who runs off in a panic. Now that Lukas has been exposed for who he is, and rejected by the one person (other than Ine) that he was getting close too, the going gets quite tough for him.

What makes this wee story more authentic is the matter-of-fact way that it deals with young Lukas’s journey of self discovery and how others around him deal with the confusion it creates.  It’s told in such a clear way that makes it both easy to understand and sympathize without resorting to including any violence that so often seems to happen in these situations. That’s probably because writer/director Sabine Bernardi ‘s movie is evidently based on her own very similar life experience.  Credit also to the very young and extremely convincing cast, esp. Rick Okon as Lukas who I was convinced was a female until I saw the final credits (and then later read that Miss Bernardi had invested in some good prosthetics for the two naked  scenes!)

It’s thought provoking and profound, but it is also wildly funny and tender too as it is, after all, a rather sweet love story.

A sensitive topic very well done, and an entertaining movie to boot, and is now out on DVD.

★★★★★★★★

RUBY SPARKS

Calvin, a rather geeky 29 year old, wrote a bestselling novel that some critics compared to 'Catcher in the Rye' when he was just 19.  Since then he’s had writer’s block and the same lack of success with his love life too.  He fills each of his days either on his Shrink’s couch or out walking his dog Scotty (that the Therapist made him get I think so he could catch a break from the self-ingratiating whinning).

Whilst out walking Scotty in the park one day he comes across a beautiful redhead who is the girl of his dreams literally, as she is in fact a figment of his imagination.  Encouraged by the Shrink, Calvin starts to write about her …. Ruby Sparks ….and then one morning he wakes up and actually finds her in his house making breakfast for him.

Calvin’s torn between being delirious happy and being convinced that he is now gone completely mad.  When Harry his brother confirms that he can also see Ruby, he knows that she is not an hallucination but a dream come true.  Harry suggests that Calvin test out his theory that he ‘created’ her on his typewriter by giving her character more quirks, such as only speaking fluent French.  He does, and she does and all reality is now suspended.

Ruby comes complete with back history (courtesy of Calvin), but when the relationship starts not going the way that Calvin would like, he miss-uses his power by re-writing Ruby’s mood’s to suit him better. But like in ‘the real world’ attempting to manipulate someone to love you, simply doesn't hold up in the end.

The gently and ingenious wry and refreshing romantic comedy is  such a real treat. It’s both zany and witty and as it happens, is also a labor of love.  Written by a delightful Zoe Kazan who also plays Ruby, and who is in fact the off screen partner of her co-star Paul Dano who is pitch perfect as the nerdy Calvin.  It’s also directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Farris the team behind the delectable 'Little Miss Sunshine', and one other plus point, is the alluring Miss Annette Benning in a cute cameo as Calvin’s hippy mother.

The whole concept of being able to just create exactly who you want to share your bed and life with is very tempting especially when its very cleverly executed here by these bright young things, but would you really want it?  Honestly?

P.S. Movia trivia : Ms Kazan is not just the granddaughter of the great Elia Kazan, but both of her parents have been nominated for Screenwriting Oscars.


★★★★★★★★

MOSQUITA Y MARI

This a cute latino coming-of-age story. Set in L.A.'s predominately immigrant Huntington Park area it tells of two Mexican teenage girls who become neighbors.  One of them Yolanda, who's nickname is Mosquita, is a good girl who lives in a nice home with hard-working pushy parents who are proud of their daughter who gets straight A's at school and who  is on track for college. Mari, the other girl is a toughie living with a younger sister who she looks out for, and her mum, and as the family are undocumented aliens work is hard to come by and they are so broke that they always on the edge of being evicted. On Mari's first day at High School she is assigned to be Yolanda's study mate, and at first they do not hit it off at all as they appear to be complete opposites. But then a friendship blossoms and later to the confusion of both girls it is on the cusp of developing into something much  deeper than that.

After seeing the very disappointing 'FILLY BROWN' the other day, it's refreshing  to see this very sensitive treatment of these young girls dealing with their burgeoning sexuality without having to resort to all the usual cliches and stereotypes that litter movies based in Latino communities .


(Reprinted from my Sundance 2012 Blog as the movie now has a theatrical release.)
★★★★★★★

EASY MONEY

Although I no longer watch any TV programs at all, even I know that ‘The Killing’ has been a hit series on both sides of the Atlantic.  Although naturally the US were not content with Danish original so they shot an American version.  Into this they cast Joel Kinnaman as a sullen scruffy Detective, and his success has helped finally trigger the release of Daniel Espinosa’s ‘Easy Money’ made in 2010.  (Swedish/Chilean film-maker Espinosa's latest movie ‘Safe House’ has already been and gone.

This time Kinnaman is cast as J.W.  a well turned out young business student and a part time cab-driver in Stockholm who helps drug dealers launder their money to finance the upscale social life he so desperately aspires too.  From the very confusing opening sequence, this taut and tense thriller with its intensely complicated plot has you sitting on the very edge of your seat for the entire 2 hours.  That is once you make sense of what actually is going on and can differentiate between all the different factions of baddies.

J.W. is the reluctant criminal with both a big heart and a conscience, and he only steps up his involvement with the drug smuggling thugs when he meets and falls for Sophie a beautiful wealthy socialite who he feels he desperately needs to impress.  The plot also follows the personal stories of two other main characters Jorge and Mrado who are part of competing criminal gangs, but they both have far more at stake in the success of the operation than J.W.

It’s all very bloody and violent and yet the whole thing is so brilliantly executed (forgive the pun!) and it shows, just like the movies based on Stieg Larson’s 'Millennium Trilogy'. that the Swedes really excel at this genre.  This particular one is penned from the first book of criminal defense lawyer Jens Lepidus’s best selling ‘The Stockholm Noir Trilogy’.

The main distinguishing difference about this book/movie from other similar ones is the underlying ethical dimensions of some of the crooks ‘trying to do good through their own ethic’.  Especially the rather naïve J.W. who tries to do ‘the right thing’ when push comes to shove in the very exciting climatic scenes but he comes unstuck and ends up losing most of his fellow gang-members and his freedom.  He does however have the last word and proves that when it comes to matters of the heart he is a real gentleman anyway.

An engrossing dynamic movie which I totally loved, and would particulary highlight the extremely talented (and not totally unattractive !!!) Mr Kinnaman’s performance. 


P.S. Movie Triva.  I love the literally translation to Swedish of Easy Money which  is 'Snabba Cash'.  They are already making a movie from the 2nd Book titled 'Aldrig Fucka Upp' which translates into 'Never Fuck Up'. Hmmmm 


★★★★★★★★

SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED

The editors of a Seattle magazine are desperately clutching at straws to find enough stories to fill their next issue. Jeff, one of the journalists, mentions an anonymous advert that he has spotted asking for a time-travelling companion.  It reads ‘must bring your own weapons’ and finishes with ‘safety not guaranteed’.

Given the go-ahead to investigate whether there is a story in this, Jeff and two of the magazine's interns shoot up North to stake out the post office box in Ocean View that was listed in the ad, and once there they eventually spot Kenneth. They follow him and discover that he’s a reclusive and rather paranoid grocery store Clerk who claims that his time machine has already transported him on a jaunt to the recent past.

Jeff fails to get any further information out of the rather looney Kenneth, so he orders Darius his cynical and somewhat odd Intern to win over his confidence so that they can get the full scoop.  Darius ends up falling for both Kenneth and his hare-brained scheme which once she discovers that they are both actually being followed by FBI looking Agents, believes could actually be a reality after all.

There is a sub-plot to this wee story with Jeff trying to re-unite with his old college sweatheart (which was in fact the real reason he took the story on so that he could come back to his old stomping ground) and also to get his other young intern to loosen up and lose his virginity.

So I must fess up that I am big Duplass Brothers fan ever since I caught sight of their delicious quirky ‘Baghead’ which kick-started the whole *Mumblecore movement in 2008.  Always pushing the envelope that wee bit further in all of their cinematic efforts, it is inevitable that some of their results up on the silver screen don’t completely hit the mark.  And this is one such time.

In fairness the Brothers only executive produced this one, and Mark Duplass played one of the leads but their handwriting is all over this first feature movie directed by Colin Trevorrow and written by newbie Derek Connolly.   There was nothing to dislike about this wry amusing comedy, but unlike the Time Machine itself, it never really took off as it had promised too.

One good plus point though : Aubrey Plaza who played Darius was excellent, and it would be good to see more of her in the future.


*Mumblecore  is a term used to describe a number of American independent films produced in the early 2000's characterized by low budget production values and amateur actors. The term does not describe a conscious movement so much as a loose band of film makers who produce very low-budget films heavily focused on naturalistic dialog.


★★★★★★

THE WELL DIGGER'S DAUGHTER

This sentimental old-fashioned French melodrama oozing with charm is a faithful remake of the 1940 original movie penned and directed by novelist turned playwright Marcel Pagnol.  This time it is helmed by veteran award winning actor Daniel Auteuil making his directing debut and taking the starring role too.  There are no CGI, (computer generated imagery) no fancy stunts, no 3-D or no flashbacks just good old traditional filmmaking with high production values that relies on some exquisite photography and some wonderful acting.  It's a refreshing change, and somewhat a surprise to me of how much I really loved it.

The time is 1914, and the place a very small town in the heart of the French countryside. Patricia is the 16 year old daughter named in the title and she comes across, and falls for, Jacques a handsome young pilot and the son of the local store keeper i.e. they have money, and considered socially out of her league.  Patricia is the oldest of 6 girls and since their mother’s death has been running the family for her father who is anxious to marry her off to his younger work colleague so that she will still live nearby and be able to help out bringing her siblings up.  Felipe is a plain solid man but no match for Jacques who she falls for fast and completely but as soon as she does he is called off to war, and she ends up pregnant.

Pascal, the well keeper drags Patricia to confront Jacques’s parents who refuse to believe that the baby could be their grandchild and so send them off packing.  Pascal, totally ashamed of the stigma of an unmarried mother in their small community, banishes her to another town for good.

When Pascal eventually gets word that the baby is born and is a boy, the first one in his family, and that the child bears his name, anger gradually turns into pride and both mother and son are eventually welcomed back into the family.

Even the French like Hollywood endings and Jacques missing in the War turns up alive, his snotty parents realize that if they don't chill they will miss out on seeing their grandson grow up …. and it's hardly spoiling the predictable final scene if I tell you even good old reliable Felipe gets a bride in the end.

M. Auteil has cast himself perfectly as the outraged and honest patriarch with his high morals that almost supplant his deep love for his large family of females, but it’s really the delightful Astrid Berges-Frisby as the demure but quietly determined Patricia that steals not just Jacques's heart but also this movie.

It all makes for the most perfect feel-good movie for a mature audience : it  is done so very well that it is head and shoulders above others in this genre, and it is really hard not to love. 

P.S. I was curious as I left the theater wondering if I would be so enamoured if it had been a re-make of a US 1940’s melodrama, or would I just have thought that was outdated and camp?  Does the fact that it is French (and exotic?) make it more acceptable/enjoyable?  Hmmm.

★★★★★★★★★

FAREWELL, MY QUEEN

When the French Peasants stormed the Bastille in Paris on July 14th 1789, their Queen Marie-Antoinette was holding Court elsewhere in the country at the Palace in Versailles. This rather resplendent and engaging costume drama follows the doomed Dauphine’s next three days fuelled by courtier's gossip as all their lives start to fall apart.

The story is told through the eyes of a young woman Sidonie Laborde who as the Queen’s Reader keeps her Monarch entertained by reading from novels, plays and even fashion magazines as she lazes in bed seemingly without a care in the world.  Sidonie is not totally subservient to the Queen whom she adores, but she is more than a tad infatuated with her too. 

As the troubles escalate and the news and intrigue keeps seeping into the back corridors Sidonie resourcefully pumps her own network for information from the Palace Archives Keeper and the Wardrobe Mistress so that she is kept abreast with what all the nobility knows.  Unlike the Queen, Sidonie has started to panic and demands ‘what is going to happen to us?’ when the Revolutionaries eventually reach the Palace.

Despite the Queen’s entreaties the King has decided that the Royal Family will not run away to Austria or Switzerland for their own safety but Marie Antoinette insists that her lover at least does.  Who knew that ‘he’ is actually a she, The Comtesse de Polignac in fact, and that the Queen is a lesbian?  Either that one slipped by me at school, or the prudish Brits had that erased that out of our Text Books on the Revolution.  Sidonie who is convinced that the Queen actually adores her, is then asked, no ordered, to risk her own neck to save that of the Comtesse.

Shot mainly in Versailles itself, which with the sumptuous costumes makes for a glorious visual treat, but the real sheer joy of this movie is watching the spoilt indulgent Queen behaving so recklessly and extravagantly when her days will soon be up.  The beautiful Austrian actress Diane Kruger ('Inglorious Bastards') is very inch the most regal screen Queen for years, and writer/director Benoit Jacquot has surrounded her with such a splendid suppocast.  Ex model and now serious actress, Lea Seydoux ('Inglorious Bastards', 'Midnight In Paris') is perfect as Sidonie, and the alluring Virginie Ledoyen ('8 Women') plays the Queen’s sexy lover.  There are a few scene stealers too like Noeme Lvovsky ('House of Tolerance') who as Madame Campan the Queen’s Lady in Waiting who just gives one of her fierce stern glares to put Sidonie and anyone else back in their place.

How much was fact and how much was fiction about this momentous period in French history simply doesn't get in the way of making this one rather fabulous movie.  The pace is fast, the pomp rather magnificent and the drama extremely enthralling.  And if your time is up, then I cannot think of a better way to go than in the style of this Marie Antoinette.

Unmissable.

P.S. There is no way this Marie Antoinette would have ever said ‘let them eat cake’ …. It would have more likely been ‘let them embroider me another flower for my finery book’.

P.P.S. Movie triva. At the same movie theater (the fab Landmark in Cambridge Mass) where I saw this, the were also showing 'The Queen Of Versailles'  the most wonderfully horrendous faux queen trying to build  the most hideous faux palace in Florida. LOVED the film though.


★★★★★★★★★

THE INTOUCHABLES

This feel-good French fairy story with its funny hybrid title is about a pair of ‘untouchables’.  One is Philipe a very wealthy Parisian aristocrat who is now paralyzed from the neck down after a paragliding accident, and the other is Driss an African immigrant newly released from jail and living in the projects who unwittingly becomes Philipe’s carer.  Driss had only reluctantly turned up to interview for the position just so that when his inane application was rejected he could qualify for Welfare Benefits.  However something in his cocky demeanor appealed to Philipe who wanted to move on from all the do-gooding nurses who just patronize and pity him.

Over time a real tight bond develops between this refined elegant man and this handsome giant of a man from the ‘hood’: each recognizing a need in the other that they can and do fulfill albeit by unconventional means.  Driss’s energy and passion, as crude as it is, transforms the boring daily grind of man who can do nothing at all for himself, and in turn he is exposed to people and a culture that is alien to him but starts to rub off his rough corners.

Even though this is based on a true story to give it a ring of authenticity, the whole set up of privileged white man helping black underclass is far from new, and I will admit may not sit well with everyone.  If you can see pass the stereotyping and maybe not be too rigid (uptight?) about being completely pc just for 100 mins., then you will appreciate that this is a truly wonderfully funny tale of humanity and humor that will have you grinning from ear to ear from the very first hilarious opening sequence. The chemistry between the two lead actors is electric and make this enchanting movie so very believable and highly enjoyable. Philipe is played by veteran French actor Francois Cluzet who can steal scenes even though he can only move his head, but the irrepressible Omar Sy shines out as Driss and I wouldn't be at all surprised if he didn't start collecting a few Awards for his stand-out performance.

It's been an enormous hit in France and if it wasn't for the fact the it has subtitles which Americans hate, it would be a mega smash here too.  My tip is see it now, as I know Hollywood will remake it and not take nearly as much care in the casting, and thus lose all the subtleties of the acting and the story.

Unmissable.
★★★★★★★★★

JESUS HENRY CHRIST

This is an absurd and strange comedy that hooked me at the beginning  (weird in my book is a very good thing) but then it went off on so many tangents that  it spoilt what I had thought/hoped would be a really funny wee movie.

Henry is the brilliant kid at the center of the story.  He has an IQ rating that is off the charts and even aged just 10, manages to successfully complete the College Admissions Examination is just two minutes.  Patricia his cookie mother, is a somewhat strident feminist who was the only girl in a very dysfunctional family. Her mother was inadvertently burned to death when the candles for Patricia’s birthday was lit when she was 10, and all but one of her siblings have since died.  Her father however did stump up some $15000 so that Patricia could get a full test tube from the sperm bank so that she could have a baby without the need of a husband/boyfriend.  Henry now wants to track down the donor i.e. his father, and thanks to his irascible  Grandfather he manages to just do that.

Dad turns out to be a geeky College Professor who has just written a heavy tone on sexual identity in families much to the embarrassment of Audrey his 12-year-old stroppy daughter who is un-mercilessly taunted at school as a lesbian.  Audrey is a good match as a sister for Henry in terms of eccentricity, and it’s just a pity that after establishing the connection, the plot just swirls out of control rather than build upon this.

That said there are odd moments when filmmaker Dennis Lee lets his very talented cast shine. Particularly Toni Colette as Patricia screaming when she discovers her baby is not a girl like the midwife had predicted, and Frank Moore as the creepy Grandfather and Henry’s confidant who could suddenly speak Spanish.  The two child actors in the leads are pitch perfect especially Samantha Weinstein as the prickly and acerbic Audrey.

This movie was based on Lee's Student Academy Winning Short Film and maybe he should have left it at that. On reflection I guess this felt like a poor man’s Wes Anderson movie : it certainly appeared that's what had inspired writer/director Dennis Lee, it’s just a pity he missed the mark somewhat. 

P.S. Film trivia. I was puzzled why Julia Roberts was the movie’s Executive Producer.  Turns out that she starred in Lee’s first movie that came and went in a blink ‘Fireflies In The Garden’.  But also her hubby Daniel Moder was the Cinematographer on this one!  Hmmm.

★★★★★