Quote of the Day - Italian

"Sono convinto che anche all'ultimo istante della nostra vita ognuno di noi può cambiare il proprio destino."  - Giacomo Leopardi

"Betty" by Claude Chabrol

5 Potatoes

I am currently watching an amazing film by the late Claude Chabrol "Betty" (1992). I remember when this film came out in theater, I was still living in Paris. I watched it again a few times since then, and tonight it is still an amazing film.
And the song "Je voulais te dire que je t'attends" by Michel Jonasz is unforgettable.

It is so sad that the both Claude Chabrol and Marie Trintignant are no longer with us. Two amazing talented people one left us by age and another her life was ended by a selfish moron... her then boyfriend Bertrand Cantat, a lead singer from Noir Désir.

This film is Highly Recommended.


Synopsis: When Betty is caught en flagrante, her bourgeois in-laws and husband force a divorce settlement upon her and bar her from seeing her two daughters. She is rescued from an alcoholic stupor by Laure, a middle-aged woman who takes Betty to her hotel lodgings, extends friendship and care, and listens to her story. Laure's lover, Mario, the proprietor of the bar where Betty and Laure met, is first a friend, then Betty's next conquest. (IMDb)


Synopsis(FR): Betty, jeune femme alcoolique et paumée, réprouvée par son mari et sa famille, se réfugie dans le restaurant "Le Trou" où elle fait la connaissance de Laure, l'amante du patron Mario. Laure l'aide et devient une amie. Mais Betty envie sa tranquille assurance et l'amour qui la lie à son compagnon. Quand elle s'éprend à son tour de Mario, les choses basculent. Est-elle la victime de sa famille bourgeoise ou un monstre d'égoïsme inconscient ?... (AlloCiné)


USA: DVD Available
USA: Currently Showing on TV5 Monde (AUG)

"Sarah's Key"

3.5 Potatoes

I just saw a movie called "Sarah's Key" (2010) - Elle s'appelait Sarah by Gilles Paquet-Brenner.
This film is based on the novel by the same title "Elle s'appelait Sarah" (2006) - Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay.
You see so many Nazi related movies through out your life time and you can never get used to the fact that the human beings did all this bad and brutal things to other human beings...
and we will probably never be able to get the right answer WHY...

This movie is focused on the little girl Sarah, after the fact how her little brother Michael died haunts her until she dies and an American journalist played by Kristin Scott Thomas tries to reveal what exactly happened to Sarah.

The story was well written and it is easy to follow. This film has a different view of the era because it was caused by non-Germans which has been rarely told in history.

By the way, the film "Pretty Things" (2001) - Les Jolies Choses by the same director and the main character played by Marion Cotillard is a great film also.

Both films Highly Recommended.


Synopsis: In modern-day Paris, a journalist (Kristen Scott Thomas) finds her life becoming entwined with a young girl whose family was torn apart during the notorious Vel' d'Hiv Roundup in 1942. (IMDb)


Synopsis(FR): Julia Jarmond, journaliste américaine installée en France depuis 20 ans, enquête sur l'épisode douloureux du Vel d'Hiv. En remontant les faits, son chemin croise celui de Sarah, une petite fille qui avait 10 ans en juillet 1942. Ce qui n'était que le sujet d'un article devient alors, pour Julia, un enjeu personnel, dévoilant un mystère familial. Comment deux destins, à 60 ans de distance, vont-ils se mêler pour révéler un secret qui bouleversera à jamais la vie de Julia et de ses proches ? La vérité issue du passé a parfois un prix dans le présent... (AlloCiné)

Official site and Trailer: http://www.sarahskey.com.au/

USA: In Theaters Now

"Vanishing on 7th Street"

0 Potato, So Wilted and Wasted

So I am finally watching the movie "Vanishing on 7th Street" (2010) by Brad Anderson. Now that I am watching it, I don't even know why I wanted see this movie for so long... Big let down. Bad directing, bad acting and very bad story. See there is something wrong with the story when the story jumps from Day 1 to 72 hours later at only 10 mins into the movie.

The movie is still playing as a BGM as I write this Blog...

Synopsis: The population of Detroit has almost completely disappeared, but a few remain. As daylight disappears they realize that the Dark is coming for them. (IMDb)

USA: DVD Available

Proverb of the day - Italian

"Nelle botti piccine ci sta il vino buono"

"Good things (or people) come in small packages."

"Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis"

4.5 Potatoes

Finally the film "Welcome to the Sticks" (2008) - Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis by Danny Boon is going to be released here in the US. It will be available on iTune. Not in theaters but at least people can see it. It is just amazingly ridiculously funny. Do not worry, the subtitle is pretty well done, so either you are French speaker or not, you can fully enjoy this crazy paced film.

Experience Danny Boon, he is very talented and funny comedian-actor-filmmaker. The remake of this film will be released in the US someday, it is still in the works. At the COLCOA 2011, Mr.Boon said "I saw the first draft of script. In France then they will write the second draft. But here they fired the writer!" and he continued saying the project is going through a difficult moment with the Hollywood way of doing business...

The Original version is Super Highly recommended!

Official Site (FR): http://www.chtinn.com/

Synopsis: Although living a comfortable life in Salon-de-Provence, a charming town in the South of France, Julie has been feeling depressed for a while. To please her, Philippe Abrams, a post office administrator, her husband, tries to obtain a transfer to a seaside town, on the French Riviera, at any cost. The trouble is that he is caught red-handed while trying to scam an inspector. Philippe is immediately banished to the distant unheard of town of Bergues, in the Far North of France. Leaving his child and wife behind, the crucified man leaves for his frightening destination, a dreadfully cold place inhabited by hard-drinking, unemployed rednecks, speaking an incomprehensible dialect called Ch'ti. Philippe soon realizes that all these ideas were nothing but prejudices and that Bergues is not synonymous with hell... (IMDb)


USA: Available on iTune on September 15th, 2011

Quote of the Day - French

"La pluie tombe comme nous tombons amoureux : en déjouant les prévisions." - Martin Page