mart-burton

I saw the trailer for this foreign film in the last week. What appealed to me was the sensitivity between the male and female leads. It was shot mainly in black-and-white. It seemed to have a measured pace to it that was perhaps covering up some deep emotion. The trailer had some beautiful cinematography in a scene by a lake. The trailer set up a bit of a mystery which was intriguing.

So the timing was right tonight and on a romantic whim I went to see it. I thought I knew why the character Adrian claimed he was a friend of Frantz. But as it turned out I was wrong. I was pleased to be wrong and be therefore taken on a ride along where the film took me. The film was set in Germany and Paris in 1919 and explores the attitudes between the French and Germans still raw after WW1.

I enjoyed it. The film dealt with a number of issues: guilt, pride, love, loss, heartache, nationalism and others.

These days there is so much below-average Hollywood pap that is not worth seeing, it's a pleasant change to experience a film that is more human.

I recommend it.

Great to see Kevin Kline in a witty role again. Cleverly written lines give some snickers, excellent techniques at times transported me. The physical slapstick was a little off, but the gags made up for it. If you like Kevin Kline, you'll like this movie. Give it a try. It will appeal to the astute mind. The rich old women are entertaining and the glimpses of the other side of life are sensitively done, with tongue in cheek. The metaphor of the pigeons is a clever one observed by Henry (Kevin Kline) himself, in this high-brow yet Oscar Wildeish thrust-and-parry into the world of the Henry and his protégé, the young gentleman. Ending on a feel-good note with the credits rolling to a zany variation of a Marc Bolan written T-Rex number 'Dandy in the Underworld'. 8/10.

I thought this was a great European film by director Fred Cavayè. It blends male devotion to the woman he loves with thriller rugged stuff, as he plans to carry out her amazing prison rescue. Julien's a bright man who is told some pointers and soon has his wall covered with his hand-written cards, photos of people. And showing emotion, this normal teacher is drawn into high-risk, situations. And the husband has to hold a lot inside, even from his attractive wife, Lisa (Diane Kruger, German model and actor), so that the escape works to a happy reunion. More like a Bond with a regular life, with his son and his extended family, we want Julien to succeed. This great screenplay is well-acted and photographed. The film shows the ordinary, family world of the finely ageing French actor (Vincent Lindon) as he enters unfamiliar, knife-edge action to rescue the only woman he wants freed – his wrongly-imprisoned wife.