World Cinema Reviews | Picturenose

De vrais mensonges (2010)

Nov

2010

Good intentions De vrais mensonges (2010) would unfortunately appear to be ‘another French movie’ of a style that seems painfully familiar. In a hopeless effort to save her mother (Nathalie Baye) from depression and loneliness, Emilie (Audrey Tautou) sends her a letter that she herself has received from a secret admirer. As things get complicated ...

Les petits mouchoirs (Little White Lies) (2010)

Oct

2010

A toast to friendship Guillaume Canet is the handsome, talented actor from Love Me If You Dare (2003) who, with this offering, has turned into an extremely good first-time director. Bringing together heavyweight names of French cinema, Les petits mouchoirs (Little White Lies) (2010) appears to be a movie about friendship – but only at ...

Des Hommes et des Dieux (Of Gods and Men) (2010)

Oct

2010

Who’s killing who? Official Selection, European Film Awards 2010 Though this film portrays terrorism and its victims, this is not another ‘post 9/11 film’. In fact, the events it portrays transpired between 1993 and 1996, and had nothing to do with America, George W. Bush, or Iraq. The victims were French, and the perpetrators Algerian. ...

Benda Bilili! (2010)

Sep

2010

Lyrics of pain and joy Benda Bilili! (2010) is an emotional, real and heart-touching account of the lives and times of Staff Benda Bilili (‘See Beyond’), a band comprising five paraplegics and an able-bodied teenager, who are full of hope and trust in the possibility of a better world.

The Boat That Rocked (Pirate Radio) (2009)

Sep

2010

Worse things happen at sea When I was a young lad in the UK, back in the time when going to school meant fighting off the occasional velociraptor and avoiding the shimmering pools of sulphur, there was a thing called ‘pirate radio’. Pirate radio largely came about because in UK in the 1960s, there was ...

Tamara Drewe (2010)

Sep

2010

Tamaraboomdeay! Official Selection, European Film Awards 2010. Well, she has obviously had the oil removed in which she was eventually covered during her short-lived appearance in Quantum of Solace (2008), and it is fair to say that most red-blooded males will be happy about that – Gemma Arterton’s natural beauty simply lights up the screen ...

Four Lions (2010) 3

Sep

2010

The war on error This was always going to be a much talked-about film – a comedy based around four would-be suicide bombers attempting to cause havoc at one of the City of London’s most prestigious sporting events, The London Marathon. Anyone who discovers that the man behind the pen and sitting in the director’s ...

Baise-Moi (Rape Me) (2000) 1

Sep

2010

Dirty, and not in a good way Originally billed as “The most shocking film you’ll see this year, legally” and still banned in several countries, Baise-Moi (2000) is a lurid look at the French underclasses, and what happens when you take away the last vestiges of dignity from those who already have so little. Well, ...

Scheherazade Tell Me a Story (2009)

Aug

2010

On the side of the resisters It’s men – not the veil – that are the women’s main concern in life. Or, if this weren’t a film from a predominantly Muslim country, their main cross to bear. The women are the guests on Hebba’s TV talk show, and they run the gamut of Egyptian society, ...

Io sono l’amore (I Am Love) (2009) 2

Aug

2010

What lies beneath Based on an original story by director Luca Guadagnino (Melissa P. (2005)) and co-produced by star Tilda Swinton, Io sono l’amore (I Am Love) (2009) is far more than just another family drama.

L’âge de raison (2010)

Aug

2010

Become who you are Director Yann Samuell’s L’âge de raison (2010) is characteristic of his sweet-yet-tearful Love Me If You Dare (2003), namely French cinema at its best. With a splendid cast, led by Sophie Marceau, the movie goes deep into your soul, searching for your inner child. That’s right, the one who reminds you ...