Cinematheque Ontario's Best 10 films of the Decade Continues...

The series continues at the Cinematheque Ontario.

The French films mark their entry this week.  Claire Denis’ excellent L’Intrus gets a showing.

These best 10 films of the decade from Cinematheque Ontario prove that the art film is not dead.  But be forewarned that not all the films selected will to your agreement – at least quite a few were not to mine.  As they say, that is what keeps the world going round. 

For the complete list of films in this BEST OF THE DECADE program, showtimes, venue and ticket pricing, check the cinematheque’s website at: http://www.cinemathequeontario.ca

The series runs from January 21 to February 23rd 2010.

Capsule reviews of films yet to be screened from now till the 23rd of Feb:-

4 DAYS, 3 MONTHS AND 2 DAYS (Romania 2007) *****
Directed by Cristian Mungiu

The action takes place in a small Romanian town one day in 1989 during the last months of communist rule.  That day is when Gabita (Laura Vasiliu) decides to get an illegal abortion - 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS before the baby is due.  Director Mungiu tells much in a single scene.  Mungiu is fond of placing his camera on a tripod and have his actors act out their lines within a single shot.  Take the first, set in Gabita’s dorm.  The untidy room tells much about her and her best friend, Otilia (Anamaria Marinca) as much as the poverty surrounding them.  Also, snow can be seen falling through the room’s window, which sets the grim and pessimistic state of affairs.  If characters move, Mungiu follows behind with the camera handheld.  Very little tracking is used, as Mungiu spends his time setting up the props and staging a scene.  4 MONTHS is a complex layered and occasionally powerful film revealing more during the second viewing.  (Screening: Thursday, Feb 18th, 7pm)

CACHE (HIDDEN) (Fr/Austria/Ger/It 2005) *****
Directed by Michael Hanake

CACHE is Hanake’s at his prime, a disturbing suspense thriller with enough shocks and twists to satisfy even Hitchcock fans.  Georges (Daniel Auteuil) and Anne (Julliete Binoche) are an outwardly happy couple whose idyllic existence is turned upside down when a series of cassettes are left at their front door or delivered to them.  They are under surveillance.  The motive is never clear nor the person or persons responsible as this is not Hanake’s purpose for the movie.  Not to spoil the film’s entertainment, enough is said of the plot.  Hanake’s moves his film at steady pace, upping the suspense towards the final reel proving once again that he is the master of discomforting dramas that shock audiences out of their seats.  Again, his theme is the evil of men brought forth by extenuating circumstances.  Worth a watch again before his WHITE RIBBON wins the Best Foreign Film Oscar.  (My bet!)
(Screening: Feb 4th Thu 7 pm)

L’ENFANT (Belgium /Fr 2006) ***
Directed by the Dardennes

L’ENFANT begins with pretty Sonia (Deborah Francois) tightly clutching her baby, looking for the apparent father, Bruno (Jeremie Renier).  Bruno is a small time thief committing crimes with kid, Steve (Jeremie Sagard).  It is apparent he loves her but has no qualms at being a good father.  After selling the child to the black market, he discovers his error.  L’ENFANT is the story of his redemption – Dardennes-style.  Those who have seen the Dardennes’ previous films LE FILS, ROSETTA and LA PROMESSE will not be surprised to find the story again taking place in a poor industrial Belgian town, the film done with hand held camera sans music and with minimal dialogue and with the camera often chasing behind the necks of the actors.  L’ENFANT has the realistic feel of a good human drama.  Actors Renier and Francois deliver credible roles as the fighting couple, Francois more successful as the maturing Sonia. 
(Screening: Feb 16th Tue 9 pm)

A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (USA /Germany 2005) *****
Directed by David Cronenberg

Director David Cronenberg in top form with A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, a character study involving the pains a human being has to endure to effect a genuine change in life for the better.  Tom Stall’s (Viggo Mortensen) life takes a different course when he becomes the local small town hero after thwarting a robbery in the diner that he runs.  Being then on the national news, he is visited by a sinister Carl Fogarty (Ed Harris) who believes him to be someone else who had wronged him in the past.  Carl demands revenge at all costs.  Cronenberg knows how to play scenes and how to manipulate the viewers’ emotions. The robbery and fight scenes are executed with skilled precision – not seen since the old Don Siegel films.  Aided by powerful performances, particularly by Viggo Mortensen (in his best role) and Ashton Holmes (as the son, Jack), Cronenberg’s film comes close to perfect in achieving all its goals.  And the film is a real nail-biter!
(Screening: Thursday Feb 4th, 9.15pm)

L’INTRUS (THE INTRUDER) (France 2005) ****
Directed by Claire Denis

This is perhaps the only chance to catch Claire Denis’ often confusing but mesmerizing tale of a mysterious older gentleman (Michel Subor) with a shady past.  Was he a spy or some criminal in the past?  Denis follows her protagonist as he journeys from the woods in the French Alps to Tahi to Korea in search for a heart transplant.  Also equally puzzling is his relationship with his estranged son (Gregoire Colin).  Denis’ images are stunning from the dogs pulling the sleigh to the baby’s eye view of the father’s head to the stunning clear blue waters around Tahiti.  This is clearly Denis most beautiful film.  Her actors are just as gorgeous from the Tahiti natives to the chiselled calves of Gregoire Colin as he climbs a hill.
(Screening: Feb 5th Fri 9 pm)

COLOSSAL YOUTH (JUVENTUDE EM MARCH) (Portugal/France/Switz 2006) ***
Directed by Pedro Costa

Slow, ponderous and a challenging film to watch, primarily because director Costa tells his story in largely seemingly disconnected vignettes.  Often the characters speak out to the screen or to each other while not looking at each other in the face.  The protagonist of the piece is Mr. Ventura, a poverty stricken ex-labourer Cape Verdean immigrant who, at the beginning of the film is lamenting the disappearance of his wife.  In the neighbourhood of Lisbon’s Fontainhas neighbourhood, he visits the various children he supposedly fathered.  If all these do not make much sense, perhaps it is not Costa’s intention to be.  Low budget, but at times beautifully shot (the broken buildings often looking like objects in an oil painting), in long, static takes, Costa’s meditative film showcases the poverty, suffering and lost youth of his subjects. 
(Screening: Sunday Feb 7th, 7pm)