Category: 2010s

The joy in French married couple Aïssa Maïga and Lucien Jean-Baptiste’s lives is increased tenfold when they are finally been chosen as adoptive parents for a four month old baby. The big tension comes from the fact that in a rare case, this black couple has been matched with white baby, with family members, social workers, and complete strangers all finding difficulty adjusting to the unusual circumstances. The film pushes hard on this singular premise that keeps from being too gimmicky by the love each parent expresses toward their child. There’s a bit at the end that is quite slapsticky and far-fetched which pulled me from the film, which may just be attempts at a light resolution to some heavy themes. I do absolutely love the set design for the film. I wish I could have such a command of color to recreate some of the vibes in my own home.

Writer turned private investigator Hiroshi Abe struggles equally in his career and his attempts to reconnect with his son and ex-wife. His embarrassing sense of failure leads him to ignore his familial obligations, gambling away every dollar he earns, while passive-aggressively competing with his ex’s current love interest despite his genuine love for his son. As with all the best Hirokazu Kore-eda films, it offers a realistic portrayal of human faults and difficulties in trying to figure out life and love. Abe’s character is not a great person, but he’s also not without virtue.

When his eldest daughter accidentally kills police chief Joan Chen’s son, a boy who had sexually assaulted and then blackmailed her, internet technician Yang Xiao uses his knowledge from watching more than a thousand films to concoct an alibi for his entire family. It’s a bit slow to get started, but once it did, there is a lot to love in this film. So often in films, people make stupid decisions to further a plot, but here the decisions are craftily executed with Yang using the police’s low expectations of him to his advantage. If only I could be so smart to use my film knowledge should I ever get in a predicament to require such. I didn’t love the ending, but it still made logic sense with the characterizations portrayed. I’m looking forward to seeing the original Indian film this was adapted from, but I want to digest this one a bit longer before that undertaking.  

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Jewish married film dubbers Maria Belkin and Vladimir Fridman immigrate to Israel and realize they must reinvent themselves in their new country. It’s a sweet little film about an older couple having to refigure out where they fit in the world and with each other. It also has a lovely sense of nostalgia towards film, particularly those of Fellini, and sharing the love with the world at large.