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Ludivine Sagnier A Girl Cut in Two

Claude Chabrol was one of the founders of the Nouvelle Vague in 1960s France, leading the way along with Godard and Truffaut. I haven't seen anything by Chabrol, not even his groundbreaking early work, so perhaps I'm the wrong critic to examine his latest, "A Girl Cut in Two", from the Sydney Film Festival.

Instead, I trust that this remark, from the excellent review on european-films.net, is close to the mark:

"Much like Woody Allen, French director Claude Chabrol seems unable to live without making movies and after a glory period that decidedly belongs to the past, he now makes a new film of varying quality each year. His latest film La fille coupée en deux (The Girl Cut In Two) however, could be dubbed Chabrol’s Match Point "

The writer uses Allen's "Match Point" as "A Girl Cut in Two" also features a love triangle, as you might guess from the title, but also as a film that brings the director back into focus. Indeed, Allen's work was on the verge of dismissal before he wowed critics with "Match Point", and Chabrol, who has been working tirelessly over the decades, is enjoying celebratory handshakes at the film festivals.

Ludivine Sagnier plays Gabrielle, a local TV weathergirl, who is instantly admired by famed author Charles Saint-Denis (played wonderfully by François Berléand) and rich playboy Paul (Benoît Magimel). The story is quite pedestrian, rarely exceeding any expectations, but where it shines is in its critical examination of the upper-class French, who live like a new breed of monarchy. Chabrol mercilessly makes the rich look tortured by wealth, bored by life, and incapable of any emotion other than greed and lust.

Sagnier has always been an actress that I've admired; despite her youthful age, she's surprisingly comfortable in front of the camera, easily blending emotions on screen. She's warm with her mother, funny with her lovers, and when she cries, you'd almost cry, too.

"A Girl Cut in Two" takes its time to get moving - one almost feels like Chabrol is sprinting through the opening scenes, hurridly trying to introduce his characters so he can dive into the meat of the story. After all, how many introductory sequences has he filmed in his long career?

The film loses some of its weight by a clumsy script, with a story pushed along with little explanation or suggestion. We're meant to read between the lines, but, at some point, after all the snickering at aristocrats, it's hard to stay focused.

Men are skewered handily, with all the men portrayed as lusty old perverts, or spoiled brats. Chabrol's stepdaughter and wife helped pen the screenplay, and though the film gives the author, Saint-Denis, a look of elegant refinement, we see a dark side to the fame and power of men. It's not pretty. Is that what we are? Certainly, it's not surprising, which is, perhaps, the greatest terror of "A Girl Cut in Two".


I say: I found the film enjoyable and funny, with just enough witty dialogue to keep you wrapped up. The story derails in the third period, but, by then, you're committed.

See it for: Outstanding performances from the cast, filled with established French actors.


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Import/Export Ulrich Seidl film

The poster for "Import/Export" at the Sydney Film Festival is an image that probably will draw crowds: a frame showing a curvy blonde woman, naked, from behind, perched on a bed, performing for a webcam.

Directed by Ulrich Seidl, "Import/Export" pauses on this image only for an instant, giving the audience a momentary glimpse of what we saw on the poster before treading into a much more bleak scenario.

The film contains two independent storylines: one, about Olga, a nurse in some small town in Ukraine, who is desperately trying to make ends meet. She has a baby, but she lives at home with her mother and her younger brother. It's a grim, industrial setting, where water must be fetched in pails, and the hospital only pays 30% of the full wage.

After an unsuccessful bout of performing for a pornographic webcam company, she takes a chance when a friend writes her to go to Vienna, Austria, where she can learn German and then find a job as a cleaning lady. It's good money, so she goes, forming the "Import" section of the movie.

Second, we see Paul, a young Austrian man who wants to start his life. Due to heavy unemployment, Paul has trouble finding a job, settling for one as a security guard, but then losing it after a group of drunk immigrants tie him up and mercilessly taunt him.

Paul struggles in his own wasteland - the living standards might be high in Austria, but everything of value is out of reach. He joins his stepfather on a trip to countries east of Austria to install gumball machines, which forms the "Export" storyline.

Seidl's vision of the two countries is filled with silently bubbling rage. Once Olga comes to Austria, we see how her life and Paul's are not that different. Neither of them is free to do as they please, both of them must sit like dogs at the hands of their masters.

It's barely a narrative, but Seidl doesn't want to sit and tell us stories. He wants to provoke us into willingly abandon our pleasant illusions about European countries. To him, Austria suffers from its own faults, as Olga is fired from her job as a live-in maid for a rich Austrian family; the family lives in such excess greed and wealth that the son is a monster, and the mother would rather Olga be abused than her son be disciplined.

The film raises some controversy as much of the last half of the movie is shot in a hospital, where Olga finds work as a cleaner. The patients are mentally disabled, speaking at random, making noises, wetting their diapers, and Seidl filmed them without permission. It seems cruel on one level, filming them for entertainment, but the resulting footage is anything but deprecating. Between the cold, professional 'care' that is given to them, and the fact that they've been abandoned, these patients are truly alone in the world, waiting to die.

Using two separate storylines is hardly unique, but Seidl's vision seems to be to make the differences between East and West disappear. As he cuts between the stories at an increased pace, we're no longer aware of the differences between the two countries, other than it seems to be miserable in both. Unfortunately, the film flounders as it attempts to flow coherently - Seidl seems more interested in set pieces, and we're dragged along to see them.

There's little that seems fresh in the movie, instead, we're provoked with images of girls masturbating, and the degradation of a prostitute. Seidl managed to evoke us into being disgusted and repelled, but with the bare minimum of effort. While we're recoiling from the images, the film meanders on its way, hardly bothering to carve a path in the ice.

I say: An interesting movie, with a critical eye on Austria. For an English-speaking audience, this is an educational experience, something to learn, but as a film, "Import/Export" falls short of moving the viewer.

See it for: There are moments of humour, usually bracketed by abject misery, making them powerful.

*this image is from an extremely critical review on TheAuteurs
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13 Tzameti

June 1st 2008 22:59
13 Tzameti
"13 Tzameti" is the type of film that you'd project on a wall at a Halloween dance party. The black-and-white cinematography augments the nightmarish scenario, making this film feel like something from the back of the skull of a notorious serial killer.

Released in 2005, the debut feature of director Gela Babluani is a starkly entertaining film that borders on psychopathic horror. "13 Tzameti" won accolades at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006 and is currently being remade by Babluani into an American film


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Suspiria

May 13th 2008 00:06
Dario Argento Suspiria

Dario Argento's "Suspiria" is one of his most renowned and best loved films, with his mastery of audio and visual language on full effect for this barely coherent horror movie centered on a coven of witches.

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The Wave die Welle speech in auditorium with white shirts

Last Saturday, I managed to get rare tickets for a sold-out screening of "The Wave (die Welle)" for the Festival of German Films. A few of our friends were unable to join us as the tickets sold like free flapjacks at a morning carnival - the Festival of German Films is one of the most popular film festivals in Sydney.

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It's German cinema time in Sydney and Melbourne, with the impressive German Film Festival playing in both cities.

Unfortunately, I'm notoriously ignorant of German cinema, despite the excellent history and love of the medium in that country. For some reason, German films get much less attention than French or Spanish cinema


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The two most visible icons of French cool have to be Alain Delon, who gave "Le Samourai" its cold, steel edge, and Jean-Paul Belmondo, who was Godard's faux-Bogart in "Breathless".

You'd expect, if they ever met in person and made contact, the universe would shear itself at that point, causing all of France to be pulled into a long strand of spaghetti


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The 400 blows Doinel in prison

Francois Truffaut's landmark debut broke the shell of the French New Wave in the 60s, ushering a cinematic era where the director took his auteurship seriously... "The 400 Blows" is a magnificent creation, a personal, moving work that shows us how life can be recreated in film.

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Paul Andrew Williams London to Brighton director

Paul Andrew Williams is a UK director, who made a giant splash with his impressive debut feature, "London to Brighton", a gritty look at the crime underbelly of London, coated with vicious humanity and perceptive emotions.

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London to Brighton

March 9th 2008 22:34
London to Brighton Johnny Harris sitting up against a graffiti'd wall
It's intense and almost hard to watch; Paul Andrew William's debut film, "London to Brighton", is a rough, seedy look at the people that fall into dark places.

The film has been heavily lauded with awards, and the reviews have been mostly gushing with compliments. It was shot on a shoestring budget, but the film is absolutely stunning to watch, running thick with heavy imagery and realism


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2 Days in Paris

February 10th 2008 23:12
2 Days in Paris Julie Delpy Adam Goldberg
Julie Delpy wrote, directed and starred in "2 Days in Paris", a whirlwind of disorientating shots from a short stopover in Paris, visiting her family and friends with her American boyfriend.

Well, that's the story - Delpy plays Marion, a photographer, and Adam Goldberg is Jack, her American boyfriend with a Woody-like New York personality. They go on a trip to Italy for a romantic vacation, but it falls short. Before returning to New York, they stay in Paris for 2 days, which prove to be an enormous strain on their relationship


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Alphaville

February 7th 2008 10:07
Alphaville movie poster Eddie Constantine
"Alphaville" is a science fiction movie made in 1965, filmed in black-and-white. From that one description, you'd expect tin-hat robots and aliens that look like people, but with weird ears.

"Alphaville", though, depicts a future which is almost indistinguishable from real life in the 60s. Men wear suits, women wear dresses, people get around in cars. Despite the seemingly normal circumstances, it's one of the most unsettling cinema interpretations of what the future might hold, and it's utterly captivating


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Atonement

January 6th 2008 23:03
Atonement Keira Knightley standing around trying to look sexy and mysterious
Let's get something straight, right off the bat: I HATE "Atonement".

Upset? Read my followup post, Why I Hate Atonement, for a long-winded article about the aspects of the movie that made me want to leave the theatre and shriek at the movie posters in the lobby.
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I Served the King of England

December 24th 2007 07:53
I Served The King of England
I Served the King of England is a well-constructed film, seamlessly merging old-school physical comedy with an underlying seriousness that begins to linger on despair.

The latest movie from Jiri Menzel is based on a novel by notable Czech writer, Bohumil Hrabel, but it's obvious that Menzel put a large slice of his own vision into the movie. It's about a mousey little waiter who dreams about becoming a millionaire one day, mesmerized by the rich men he waits on


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