What European films did you see? January / February 2016

Hi Petro,I want to say thank you for starting this thread,which will hopefully bring up some good recs.With my 29th birthday coming up on the 9th,I've decided that along with celebrating my birthday that I will aim to write my 1000th review on the same day,on my 10th favourite film of all time (which is a British Comedy.) Since I've just written #997,I'm pleased to say that all but one have been Euro films in my 1000 review countdown!

Hi morrison. You must be aquarius. I pretty much nicked the format for this thread from you (Film Noir board). Hopefully will see if it sinks or swims over here in the coming months.
Best of luck reaching that next milestone. 1000 reviews is not to be sneezed at. All of us movie lovers benefit from the hard work and efforts that are put into preserving cinema's legacy by people like you. Thanks.

'The Tall Blond Man With One Black Shoe' (1972, Le grand blond avec une chaussure noire - Yves Robert)

Colonel Louis Toulouse (Jean Rochefort) hatches a plot to eliminate casual opportunist Francois Perrin (Pierre Richard) who's suspected of being involved in an international heroin smuggling operation. Toulouse sends his right-hand man Colonel Bernard Milan (Bernard Blier) on a mission to tail Perrin.

Yves Robert's witty espionage thriller uncurls a sinuous plot built upon false accusations and mistaken identities. The situations never become too far-fetched due to the considered writing of Robert and Francis Veber who create an air of confusion from societal manners and humorous wordplay. Pierre Richard is ideally cast as the hapless violinist under suspicion, with Jean Rochefort, Mireille Darc, Bernard Blier, Jean Carmet and Colette Castel adding to the fun. The music by Vladimir Cosma is wonderful, utilising the talents of pan flautist Gheorge Zhamfir. The best thing about the remake 'The Man With One Red Shoe' (1985) is Carrie Fisher in a leopard print bikini.

'The Return Of The Tall Blond Man' (1974, Le retour du grand blond - Yves Robert)

Musician Francois Perrin (Pierre Richard) continues to evade his pursuers in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

For the sequel to 'The Tall Blond Man With One Black Shoe', co-writers Yves Robert and Francis Veber concoct an all-out farce that still retains the sophisticated sheen of the original. There's fine comedy work from returning players Pierre Richard, Jean Rochefort, Mireille Darc, Jean Carmet and Colette Castel, with crime icon Michel Duchaussoy dropping in to ensure the audience has a ton of fun. The musical finale, a performance of Jacques Offenbach's masterful operetta 'Orpheus Of The Underworld', is an absolute show-stopper. The black dress worn by Darc in the original is one of the most famous in French chic cinema and for the follow-up she wears an equally fetching white one.

'The Castaways Of Turtle Island' (1976, Les naufragés de l'île de la Tortue - Jacques Rozier)

Travel agent Jean-Arthur Bonaventure (Pierre Richard) meets Lisette Benoit (Lise Guicheron), recently separated, and asks her to pose as his girlfriend, but complications arise when his sister calls, prompting Jean-Arthur to plot his escape to a desert island collecting friends along the way.

'The Castaways Of Turtle Island' is a comedy about planning a faraway adventure. It's a politicised film expressing environmental concerns as well as a gentle social critique. It's also an old-fashioned busman's holiday in a similar way to how Patrice Leconte's 'Les Bronzes' movies (featuring French comedy troupe Le Splendid) transplant everyday habits and domestic practises to holiday resorts. The office workers and administrative assistants who commit to the journey are bored and looking for a quick getaway so they form a tribe to undertake the Robinson Crusoe Voyage. By doing so, they transport a piece of home to an exotic Caribbean island aboard a cramped cruise vessel, unable or unwilling to escape the life they've left behind.
Among his contemporaries in the "nouvelle vague", Jacques Rozier is the only one I can think of who never seemed to adapt his template or abandon the artistic principles he began with, making do with only minor adjustments where necessary. Following his entry into cinema in the 1950s, he continued to make scratchy documents about people, dealing with their lives, their dreams, and their spirited - if ultimately futile - attempts to break free. Like his fellow filmmaker Jean Rollin, Rozier was influenced from an early age by Tristan Corbiere, poet of the sea. But while Rollin was primarily an audio-visual artist with a comic book sensibility, Rozier established himself as a scenarist and dialogue writer with a crude documentary style. Rollin's short subject film 'Les Amours Juanes' (1958) features key elements of his coastal obsession, and the same can be said of Rozier's short 'Blue Jeans' (1958). In the late 1960s, Rollin left Paris and took up temporary residence on the French coast while striking a deal with psychedelic rock band Abraxas. In the early 1970s, Rozier also decamped to the coast from Paris, securing a soundtrack from progressive rock band Gong.
Rozier's debut feature 'Adieu Philippine' (1961) and his multi-grain epic 'Du Cote D'Orouet' (1969 - selected by 'Time Out' as one of the 100 greatest French films) are works in which girlfriends gallivant outdoors and reflect together indoors. I think of them as films about freedom, freedom of choice and the freedom to roam, films in which the camera is freed from established cinematic constraints. They have a home video quality to them which is also present in 'The Castaways Of Turtle Island', his funniest picture I've seen to date.

'Satan' (2006, Sheitan - Kim Chapiron)

Eve (Roxane Mesquida) and Yasmine (Leila Bekhti) invite some disco clubbers to a remote country house for Christmas where they're greeted by gregarious shepherd Joseph (Vincent Cassel), resident oddball Jeanne (Julie-Marie Parmentier) and their attentive flock.

It's easy to see why the horror movie 'Satan' was a labour of love for co-producer Vincent Cassel as it allows him full reign to go balls to the wall nutzoid. There's little plot to speak of but it's a movie packed with unearthly delights, ranging from a Santa's grotto oasis at a hidden hot spring pumping out lust potion, to an eye-popping living dollhouse where visitors discover if they've been naughty or nice. The farmlands of rural France always provide a strong setting for tales of the fantastique and director Kim Chapiron revels in the unique menu and culinary craft of the region. 'Satan' is an entertaining rustic shocker with tremendous performances from all concerned (Monica Bellucci makes a fleeting appearance and Chris Marker also receives an acting credit).

'Sleep Tight' (2011, Mientras duermes - Jaume Balaguero)

Creepy handyman Cesar Manso (Luis Tosar) spies on Clara Blas (Marta Etura) who lives in the block of flats where he performs odd jobs. What does this creepozoid want from her?

I found 'Sleep Tight' to be a taxing viewing experience. I don't think it works as psychological horrror because Clara's life is so incredibly dull. There's no tension between Clara and her stalker, her boyfriend Marcos Darcos (David Ginola lookalike Alberto San Juan) is a crushing bore, and their environment is flat and sterile. I think the film works better as a character study though, with an emotive performance from Luis Tosar as the obsessive predator. Jaume Balaguero directs proceedings in a professional manner but sparks rarely fly. It's worth seeing for the bitter ending alone, which is chilling to the bone.

'Camila's Kids Company : The Inside Story' (2015, Documentary - Lynn Alleway)

The story of a childrens charity in London that once provided refuge, happiness, education and financial support before turning into a mismanaged goliath reliant upon press promotions, celebrity donors and government hand-outs. It seems that company founder Camila Batmanghelidjh and chief trustee Alan Yentob (the BBC arts guru) wanted to create a magical kingdom for kids. Unfortunately, it appears that not enough efforts were made to safeguard the children and provide them with the tools needed to support themselves and their communities. Perhaps more kids could have been helped if some of the more extravagant expenses had been curbed. Lynn Alleway's fly on the wall documentary was ten years in the making.


Those were some good European viewings.

Hi Petro,I want to say thank you for highlighting the Kids Company doc, (I'm going to try and watch a bit of it tonight)and that after Mark Kermode's mentioned the film in a Vid related to the film Rams, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIIRdZt_FwY) BBC4 have just screened a 60 minute cut, (the full 90 min cut is only being sold on the filmmakers site for 16.99!)which can be found here:



www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b070jj99/addicted-to-sheep

I also just wanted to check if you can get things like More4?

Thanks.

Hi morrison. Thanks for the info. Is More4 a satellite channel available on Sky - like E4, Channel 4+ etc? I'll have a look on the channel listings next time I'm in front of the box.

Hi Petro,with More 4 (which I've been told is Sky #136) I have found out that Channel 4 are planning to put 600 hours of Euro TV shows/films on More 4,with there also being a free streaming site:

www.channel4.com/programmes/walter-presents

I also found this piece about the new shows/films:

http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/nov/27/walter-presents-exclusive-trailer-for-channel-4s-new-world-tv-service

ooking for your next Scandi fix? Wondering what to watch when The Returned leaves? Struggling to find enough subtitles on Netflix? The unusually named Walter Presents might be the answer. The free video-streaming service from Channel 4 launches in January 2016 with a selection of non-English-language dramas.

Shows lined up include Deutschland 83, Belgian comedy drama Clan, French political drama Spin, Argentinean psychological thriller Pure Evil, Sweden’s answer to Borgen, Blue Eyes, Afghanistan-set French drama Kabul Kitchen, and Danish supernatural thriller Heartless. Other titles include Match Day (France), Cenk Batu (Germany), The Lens (Czech Republic) and 10 (Switzerland).

Deutschland 83 will premiere on Channel 4 before becoming available exclusively as a box set to stream on Walter Presents. The first two series of Spin are set to feature in the regular More 4 slot in January, with Blue Eyes and Clan to run on the channel in February.

The service has been named after Walter Iuzzolino, chief creative officer of Global Series Network, who has been curating the catalogue. “We live in the golden age of serial drama, with French and Scandi thrillers gripping audiences in their millions,” Iuzzolino says. “This is the perfect time to introduce UK viewers to a much broader choice of the very best dramas and box sets from around the world, which they never previously knew existed.”

Hi morrision. Thanks for providing some scheduling info for 'More 4', a channel I do appear to receive on my satellite box. I don't watch much tv drama at all, but after reading the thoughts of you and the Professor on some Scandinavian crime entries, I took a splash and ordered the 'Girl Tattoo' box-set. I've not seen any of these movies (although I have seen and enjoyed David Fincher's remake).

Hi Petro,with "The Girl" films I hope that you like your intro to Scandi crime.Originally shown on the big screen,"The Girl" movies were then shown on TV in an uncut form of 6 90 min episodes,with each extended film (which are now out on DVD) being shown over two nights.Whilst I am a fan of Fincher's take, (esp Rooney Mara's incredible performance) I give the edge to the original,due to Noomi Rapace fully embodying Salander.On a note about the trio,I have to say that the second film (Played with Fire) does suffer from running out of steam in the middle.