Demndiary Blog

Under discussion:

Broken English  (2007)

I found Zoe Cassavetes' Broken English a refreshingly honest film. Nora is simply portrayed by Parker Posey as a fearful woman, who drinks to excess, and is scared of being alone. Her friendship with Audrey acts as much to her loneliness as her mother. The married friend is the mixed curse.

Nora wanders from date to date, but is truly unfufilled. She seems more of a victim in dating instead of a participant. This changes with Julian.

Melvil Poupard's Julian is the muse who makes Nora's life unbalanced. He is also the one who makes her happy. She is transformed in his presence. It is magic onscreen. It is subtle enough to be real.

The trip to Paris is a journey of discovery both outward and inward for both Audrey and Nora. It gives them both new eyes on their worlds.

Personally, the one scene that opitimized Nora's life was Julian cleaning some dishes in Nora's sink. It was a cramped space with few glasses. The sign of a single person. It was a wise scene to keep in.

Broken English is not the most romantic film ever made. It is honest and fun, and sincere. I recommend it.

Under discussion:

Le Grand Voyage  (2004)

Ismael Ferroukhi's Le Grand Voyage is a hard film to fault with. The acting, photography, writing and directing are superb. It is a road movie where the journey is the destination. The journey is vastly different from what Westerners are used to. It is a journey of faith to one of Islam's holiest sites. It is also the journey of a father and son trying to relate to each other. It becomes more.

Le Grand Voyage thrives on the relationship of Reda (Nicolas Cazale) and his father (Mohammed Majd). Reda is relunctantly recruited to drive his father from France to Mecca after his older brother screws up. Reda is not religious and pines for his girlfriend. His father is stubborn and devoutly religious. Reda could care less about religion and sees the drive as getting him further from his goals. Cazale is deserving of praise and awards for his spectacular performance.

Le Grand Voyage has many of the pitfalls of the typical road movie. There is hitchhiker who keeps appearing. There is the over friendly man offering directions and wanting to join the pilgrimage. There are the continious stops for customs in Italy, Croatia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. There is also the goat.

This film avoids many things that could drag it down. The biggest obstacle it avoids is being preachy. The director's intent is not to covert Reda or the audience. Ferroukhi lets his characters speak without making grand statements. Everything is understated and kept honest. Ferroukhi also does not make the film skit comedy. It is a trip to Mecca not European Vacation. Prevelant throughout is amazing views of the entire journey.

Le Grand Voyage reaches its peak when Mecca is in sight. Encompassing the last third of the film, Mecca is the most emotional part of the film. It is hard for any viewer not to be awestruck at the views of all the pilgrims alone. The story reaches a point here that changes Reda in profound ways.

Le Grand Voyage is one of those few perfect films. It takes on major themes and tells a story without shorting the audience nor his characters.

In addition to Le Grand Voyage, the disc includes Eva Sack's short film Date. Date is a 5 minute short about a couple on a date in New York City. The guy arrives late and is trying to make up. The film ends when they find a board with missing posts of September 11 victims. It is a virtually silent film that is beautiful and moving. Sack is a director who needs a full length feature to dig into. If Date is any sign, she is destined for greatness.

Under discussion:

Ten Canoes  (2007)

 Rolf de Heer's Ten Canoes is one of the most beautiful films ever photographed. From the first shot the landscape invites the viewer in with wonder and excitement. Then the narration begins and effect of beauty is lost in a sea of characters and times and parables that gets painful to watch.

To begin with, the narrator (David Gulpilil Ridjimiraril Dalaithngu) is too friendly to the viewers and speaks in English, while the rest of the film is subtitled. It makes it confusing to switch back between languages while the narrator is winking and nodding. It was inconsistent at best.

Second, the film is told in two different time periods using the same actors. At the beginning, modern day is shown in black and white, and then moments later, ancient times are and then are switched again. The time periods switch back and fourth throughout the film trying to give the viewer a sense of Dayindi's (Jamie Dayindi Gulpilil Dalaithngu) thinking. It adds to the confusion since the main character in ancient times is Ridjimiraril (Crusoe Kurddal).

Ridjimiraril's story is about his younger brother coveting his third wife. The narrator tries to explain the culture in a humorous way, but it sounds more like a dated National Geographic special trying to show how modern day beliefs reflect the past. The best example of this is when the characters are introduced with headshots with narration. The actors appear to be more fascinated with the camera than with performance. It is taking the man off the street and saying, act out the tortoise and the hare over a week.

The only performance that does stand out is Crusoe Kurddal. His rough looks and dead eyes make a compelling warrior. Unfortunately his performance can not save the film.

Ten Canoes is a beautiful landscape filled with too many problems, characters and times to be easily to follow or recommend.