10 films: Otesánek to Amelie from Montmartre
Otesánek (Jan Svankmajer, 2000). A couple who can’t get children animates a tree branch, which turns out to be a great threat to everyone. Wonderful animations and a great character in the form of a precocious girl who takes it upon herself to be a hero. [8/10]
Sybil (Daniel Petrie, 1976). A woman suffers from multiple personality disorder and seeks professional help. All split-personality films are silly, and although this is no exception it manages to be somewhat believable and with a really scary character from the woman’s youth. [7/10]
To Catch a Thief (Alfred Hitchcock, 1955). A retired burglar has to return to his occupation to clear his name from suspicion. Interesting characters and Cary Grant in a serious role makes this good. [7/10]
The Lady Vanishes (Alfred Hitchcock, 1938). A woman disappears from a train, but no one believes the young woman who claims it. A silly spy film, with a horrible love story, ridiculous humor and the biggest McGuffin I ever saw. [5/10]
Metropolis (original title: Metoroporisu) (Rintaro, 2001). In a future city robots start a rebellion, but a young boy befriends a female robot who happens to be really important. The slave robots are interesting and even though the story is a bit cryptic the different situations are interesting. [7/10]
To Kill a Mockingbird (Robert Mulligan, 1962). A black man is put on trial in the American south for an attempted rape, and the white lawyer who defends him find himself under pressure from society. A great film, that focus on racism without being either utopian or dystopian. [9/10]
The Nightmare Before Christmas (Henry Selick, 1993). Jack Skellington, the king of Halloween, wants to do something new with the holiday and kidnaps and impersonates Santa Claus. Everything is great about this film: the characters, the mood, the jokes and most of all the music. Danny Elfman not only composed it, but sang the songs as Skellington. I’ve seen it before, but now I increased my IMDb rating from 9 to 10. This is one of the best films of all. [10/10]
Eragon (Stefen Fangmeier, 2006). A young boy lives as a farmer with his parents, but wants to seek adventure and his destiny in far away places. Luckily his family is torched, so he can go away and learn to use the force… I mean magic, to fight an evil wizard. Sound familiar? I watched this with Helena in Paris in French, but I think I got most of the “story” anyway. It’s interesting to note that the French didn’t have numbered seats, you had to come really early and wait in a queue to get a good seat. [4/10]
Arthur et les Minimoys (Luc Besson, 2006). A young boy is shrunk to a size of a few millimeters and has adventures in a garden. This film was obviously a way to sell a lot of merchandise, but I was still disturbed by some of the themes in the film. Was the love story between the ten-year-old boy and the seductive princess voiced by Madonna really necessary? [4/10]
Amelie from Montmartre (original title: Le Fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain) (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001). Amélie is a shy woman who lives and works in Paris. She finds a hidden box she wants to return to the owner, and on the way she meets a lot of colorful people. But really, the film is about so much more. I like the narrative tricks Jeunet uses, when he introduces people by presenting their likes and dislikes (a technique also used in his short film Foutaises). When me and Helena was in Paris this New Years we had coffee at the cafe Amélie works in the film, and we visited many of the places used in the film. I’ve seen it before, but this time I give it a 9 instead of the earlier 7. [9/10]
