Category: Non-English Film

In a struggling French village, unhappily married couple Michel Simon and Germaine Reuver have grown to hate each other so much that they each come to the conclusion that the only way out of their misery is to murder their spouse. A brisk dark comedy, it economically uses its time to quickly establish the relationships among the principle characters and the quirks of the town they inhabit. While primarily focused on the central marriage, it also offers amusing criticisms of the judicial system and celebrity, with the villagers taking gleeful advantage of the notoriety of the resulting court case. As a bonus, the beginning credits avoid the standard litany of names and instead the director introduces all of his actors while complimenting each one.   

Part of Wong Kar-Wai’s informal trilogy, Tony Leung Chiu Wai attempts to come to terms with the loss of Maggie Cheung in his life through his relationships with other women and by writing a science-fiction tale about the titular room. Like the other films, it does not follow a linear narrative which makes for a somewhat convoluted, but richer story. Filmed in equally lush colors and settings, I didn’t quite love it as much as In the Mood for Love, but it provides an intriguing exploration of coming to terms with lost love.  

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.