"Lily Sometimes"

3 Potatoes

"Lily Sometimes" (2010) - Pieds nus sur les limaces (2009) by Fanienne Berthaud - a winner of Art Cinema Award at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival Directors' Fortnight - was shown at this year's COLCOA 2011 in April.

The story somewhat reminds me of yet another French film "The Eighth Day" (1996) - Le Huitième Jour by Jaco van Dormael. Anyway I thought it was slow at first but soon I got sucked into the story and I was stunned by the acting of Ludivine Sagnier. She is always good but this time her performance was, let's say, incroyable.

This film will be shown on TV5 this month: Sunday, June 19th at 5:30pm PST, 8:30pm EST


Synopsis (ENG): "...Ludivine Sagnier - who won a Lumière Award for her performance - is Lily, an eccentric young girl who lives with her mother in the countryside. A free-spirit who defiantly ignores all social conventions, she is determined to live according to her every whim. When her mother suddenly dies, Lily’s quirkiness veers to uncontrollable behavior and her older sister Clara (Diane Kruger) feels compelled to move in with her. Serious and conservative, Clara claims to be happy, working in her husband’s Parisian law office. But once she moves in with Lily, Clara begins to question her own life..." (COLCOA)


Synopsis (FR):Lily, drôle, exubérante et insaisissable, vit dans un univers fantaisiste en harmonie avec la nature, à la campagne, chez sa mère. Sa grande soeur, Clara, mariée et citadine, a quitté la maison familiale. A la mort de leur mère, Clara doit bouleverser ses priorités pour s’occuper de Lily. Les deux sœurs vont alors se révéler l'une à l'autre… Clara sous l’influence de Lily va remettre sa vie en question et goûter a une certaine liberté... (AlloCiné)




USA: TV5 Monde, Sunday June 19th, 2011 at 5:30pm PST, 8:30pm EST
USA: DVD Availability Unknown

"Abel"

4.5 Potatoes

The film "Abel" (2010) by Diego Luna was one of the best films I saw at
the AFI last year. It was also the Official selection for the Cannes 2010.

The little boy who played the character Abel was an amazing actor. Thanks to the great director Diego Luna who knew exactly how to direct children. His Q&A was fun, he became his own moderator and his son was running around in the theater. He was a child soap opera actor in Mexico and after achieving many successful movie careers internationally, he is now an actor, a producer and a director. He is truly the success story in the entertainment business.

I heard this film was released in the US in March this year, I am surprised that it was a small release for such a great film. Such a shame.

Synopsis: About a peculiar young boy who, as he blurs reality and fantasy, takes over the responsibilities of a family man in his father's absence. (IMDb)

Official Site (Mexico): http://www.abel-lapelicula.com/



US DVD Release: Coming Soon

Weekend: May 6

Here are two movies I want to see this weekend.

"Last Night" (2011) by Massy Tadjedin with Keira Knightley. The story is about a married couple who spends a night apart one day and their relationship and trust get tested...
I simply want to see it because Guillaume Canet is in it... 
Why not?


Synopsis: "The story follows a married couple, apart for a night while the husband takes a business trip with a colleague to whom he's attracted. While he's resisting temptation, his wife encounters her past love." (IMDB)

Another movie I want to see is "Poetry" - Shi by Lee Chang-dong which won the Best Screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival 2010. He also directed the amazing film "Secret Sunshine" (2007) - Milyang which was nominated for the Palm d'Or and the actress Do-yeon Jeon won the Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival 2007. I missed it at the AFI last year and I am looking forward to seeing it.


Synopsis: "... On a whim, Mija enrolls in a poetry class at the local cultural centre and begins a personal quest to find the perfect words to describe her feelings. However, she’s plagued by the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, and struggles with new vocabulary and the challenges of the creative process. When her world is turned upside down by the discovery of a monstrous crime, it is Mija’s unique and touching poetry that allows her to defy the weight of shame and distance herself from a painful proximity to violence." Read more... (Toronto International Film Festival)

"Last Night" in Theater Now


"Poetry" in Theater Now (US Release May 6, 2011)


"Secret Sunshine" DVD Coming Soon