Reviews of movies and TV focused on women
Let the Sunshine In (Un beau soleil intérieu) from French director Claire Denis is a character study of Isabelle (Juliette Binoche), a lonely Parisian artist searching for love.
Continue reading “Let the Sunshine In (Un beau soleil intérieur)”Clouds of Sils Maria is a reflection on youth and aging with outstanding performances from Juliette Binoche as actress Maria Enders and Kristen Stewart as her personal assistant Val. Continue reading “Review: Clouds of Sils Maria”
The 33 is not the kind of story I usually talk about. It isn’t about a woman or women. It’s about men. 33 men. It’s based on the 2010 Chilean mine disaster in which 33 men were trapped underground for 69 days.
I read Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Hector Tobar’s book Deep Down Dark on which the film is based and I got to know those men and the people in their lives – their wives, lovers and children. The book was utterly compelling and nerve wracking. If you are a reader, read this book before the film is released.
You don’t have to read the book to be interested in the movie. It’s an amazing story. Patricia Riggen directs. Patricia Riggen is a native of Mexico, known for directing such films as Under the Same Moon, Lemonade Mouth, and Girl in Progress.
It’s a big cast, including Cote de Pablo, Antonio Banderas, Rodrigo Santoro, James Brolin, Juliette Binoche, Kate del Castillo, Lou Diamond Phillips, Gabriel Byrne, Mario Casas, Adriana Barraza, and Bob Gunton.
The film opens on November 13.
1000 Times Good Night stars Juliette Binoche as a war photographer. Check the background information and trailers. It’s a slow, introspective film interspersed with scenes of violent horror.
Spoilers ahead. Continue reading “Review: 1000 Times Good Night”
A Thousand Times Good Night will be released in the US on October 24. It looks to be a marvelous film. Continue reading “Watch This: A Thousand Times Good Night”
When Clouds of Sils Maria showed at the Cannes Film Festival, the Hollywood Reporter dismissed the film with,
Given its narrow range of concerns, Clouds of Sils Maria will be mostly of interest to aficionados of theater, acting and the notion of how real and fictional lives can blur to those involved.
Based on what I’m seeing in descriptions of the film and the fact that Kristen Stewart is huge, I’m thinking it may draw in more viewers than that. The film stars Juliette Binoche, Kristen Stewart and Chloe Grace Moretz. I suppose it’s easy for some to dismiss a film with three female names at the top of the cast, but this attracts me.
The themes in the film deal with acting and how real life and fictional life intersect, but they also deal with aging, with relationships, with hubris, and with power.
The basic plot: a 40ish actress played by Juliette Binoche is offered a part in a play that made her famous 20 years ago. Only this time, she will play the older woman in the story, with her former part going to a tabloid-feeding ingenue played by Chloe Grace Moretz. Kristen Stewart is Binoche’s assistant. Binoche and Stewart go to a remote location in Switzerland called Sils-Maria during the process of deciding whether or not to take the part.
As I mentioned, part of the dilemma the Binoche character faces is accepting her age, but there is also a strong parallel between the plot of the play wherein “an older woman falls in love with a scheming girl who has her wrapped around her little finger” and the relationship between Binoche and her assistant.
Any story about the relationships among women should be given a look, in my opinion. Here’s a preview.
If you’ve seen it already, or go see it, please share your reactions.
