It’s not quite 8:00 AM, but I have a candidate for Quote of the Day. From Michael Atkinson’s review of Broken English, newly released on DVD, at IFC News:
Posey-triumph and single-chick indie miracle that it is, Broken English may also be the most eloquent portrait of its subject demographic ever made, despite changing two-thirds of the way through into a slightly ditzy French-movie version of itself and robbing a little, in the end, from Linklater’s Before Sunset. While Sex in the City reruns are merely the idiot’s guide to lonely-girl anesthetization, Cassavetes’s feature-film debut is the true gem.
Whatever you think of Zoe Cassavetes’ film, it’s definitely had an interesting media life. Largely overlooked at Sundance, generally shrugged-over in its theatrical release, reclaimed late in the game by a handful of bloggers (including me) and now, finally, earning glowing reviews at the end of its media cycle. If theatrical distribution is now essentially a commercial for home entertainment sales (and I’m fairly sure Magnolia, English’s distributor, believes it is), than this is perhaps the best reception a film could ask for: the longer Broken English sits in the culture, the more positive attention it attracts. It’s a “sleeper” on a long-tail timeline.
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