The New Girlfriend
François Ozon means to grab your attention from the very first frame of his movie, which shows a young bride in a wedding dress lying in a coffin surrounded by sobbing mourners. Standing besides David her husband is Claire who has been Laura’s best friend since childhood and she finishes her emotional eulogy by promising … Continue reading
The Other Side of Hope
Its been a long six years since he directed his last movie Le Havre, but the wait was well worth it as Aki Kaurismäki has just released The Other Side of Hope another truly wonderful piece of escapism that is peppered with a more than the usual dose of realism to. The Finnish auteur … Continue reading
The Past
Life for Marie is very fraught. Ahmed, her soon-to-be-ex husband arrives back in Paris from his native Tehran to finalise their divorce. Marie is already living with her next husband-to-be Samir a laundry owner whose current wife is still lying in a coma after a failed suicide attempt. And the ramshackle crowded household has three children … Continue reading
The Salesman
Ever since writer/director Asghar Farhadi became the first Iranian filmmaker to win a Oscar and a Golden Globe in 2011 for his stunning movie A Separation, he has continued to helm compelling dramas of domestic discord that show the uneasiness of women’s roles in contemporary Iranian society. The Salesman starts very dramatically with the impending collapse … Continue reading
The Second Mother
Val is a much put-upon live-in maid to a lazy and self-absorbed wealthy family in Sao Paulo. She’s the housekeeper, cleaner, cook, gardener and even pool boy, yet she’s practically invisible to her employers Barbara and Carlos until they want something. Strangely enough she accepts their rather callous and off-hand treatment mainly because being there … Continue reading