“On Body And Soul” by Ildiko Enyedi (2017)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#2)

Good gender content
Excellent script, personages, dialogues, music, message and expressiveness
Top direction, images and minority presence

Dreams and animals as go-between
A movie in which nothing is taken for granted
Loneliness is here expressed with a sobriety exceeding that of a Edward Hopper painting
Great editing and acting / beautiful song by Laura Marling

Rotten Tomatoes Critics —
Metascore 7,7
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,0
IMDB 7,6
Average critics 7,7
Average public 7,8

Original title: Teströl és lélekröl

Cast: Alexandra Borbély, Géza Morcsányi, Réka Tenki
Director: Ildikó Enyedi
Writer: Ildikó Enyedi
Music by Ádám Balázs
Cinematography by Máté Herbai
Film Editing by Károly Szalai

“Battlecreek” by Alison Eastwood (2017)

Two features by Alison Eastwood (2/2)

Good minority presence

We’ve already been through this story before – a guy and a girl have to solve the problems of their past before thinking of a future together.
But in this version, the message is “you just have to kill your demons to be free”, and killing here is meant psychologically (mother-son) as well as in a real murder (set of course in a self-defense framework): an all too easy way out for a story whose premises deserved much better.
The direction is a bit fragile and the use of space at times too theatrical

IMDB 5,7

Cast: Bill Skarsgård, Delroy Lindo, Paula Malcomson
Director: Alison Eastwood
Writer: Anthea Anka
Cinematography by Dane Lawing
Film Editing by Gary Roach

“Rails And Ties” by Alison Eastwood (2007)

Two features by Alison Eastwood (1/2)

First Feature

Good personages, direction and message

A melodramatic story with a message that reminds us that it’s our capacity not to obey the rules and follow our instinct that make us human

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 4,6
Metascore 4,4
Roger Ebert 6,3
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,8
IMDB 6,7
Average critics 5,1
Average public 6,8

Cast: Kevin Bacon, Marcia Gay Harden, Miles Heizer
Director: Alison Eastwood
Writer: Micky Levy
Music by Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens
Cinematography by Tom Stern
Film Editing by Gary Roach

“On Body And Soul” by Ildiko Enyedi (2017)

Two works by Ildikó Enyedi

A weekend treat!

Good gender content
Excellent script, personages, dialogues, music, message and expressiveness
Top direction, images and minority presence

Dreams and animals as go-between
A movie in which nothing is taken for granted
Loneliness is here expressed with a sobriety exceeding that of a Edward Hopper painting
Great editing and acting / beautiful song by Laura Marling

Rotten Tomatoes Critics —
Metascore 7,7
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,0
IMDB 7,6
Average critics 7,7
Average public 7,8

Original title: Teströl és lélekröl

Cast: Alexandra Borbély, Géza Morcsányi, Réka Tenki
Director: Ildikó Enyedi
Writer: Ildikó Enyedi
Music by Ádám Balázs
Cinematography by Máté Herbai
Film Editing by Károly Szalai

“A Year Ago in Winter” by Caroline Link (2008)

Best movies seen in 2020

Good dialogues, music and gender content
Excellent script, personages, images and message
Top direction

A boy in his late teen kills himself without leaving a note. His mother loses a son, his sister a brother, but as she once says, they both lost much more than a son/brother.. A powerful movie that shows without any superficiality how grieving is such a personal process

IMDB 7,2

Original title: Im Winter ein Jahr

Cast: Karoline Herfurth, Josef Bierbichler, Corinna Harfouch
Director: Caroline Link
Writers: Caroline Link (screenplay), Scott Campbell (novel)
Music by Niki Reiser
Cinematography by Bella Halben
Film Editing by Patricia Rommel

“Cider With Rosie” by Philippa Lowthorpe (2015)

War movies directed by women

Weak direction and message

Some interesting personages and situations but the whole doesn’t get anywhere.
The choice to use the deep, almost broken voice of a veteran smoker as voice-off for Laurie Lee is difficult to link to the main personage of the film whom we only see as a boy and in his teens.

IMDB 6,4

Cast: Timothy Spall, Samantha Morton, Georgie Smith
Director: Philippa Lowthorpe
Writers:Ben Vanstone, Laurie Lee (based on the book by)
Music by Peter Salem
Cinematography by Julian Court
Film Editing by David Thrasher

“A Year Ago in Winter” by Caroline Link (2008)

A German week

Good dialogues, music and gender content
Excellent script, personages, images and message
Top direction

A boy in his late teen kills himself without leaving a note. His mother loses a son, his sister a brother, but as she once says, they both lost much more than a son/brother.. A powerful movie that shows without any superficiality how grieving is such a personal process

IMDB 7,2

Original title: Im Winter ein Jahr

Cast: Karoline Herfurth, Josef Bierbichler, Corinna Harfouch
Director: Caroline Link
Writers: Caroline Link (screenplay), Scott Campbell (novel)
Music by Niki Reiser
Cinematography by Bella Halben
Film Editing by Patricia Rommel

“Little Joe” by Jessica Hausner (2019)

2019 was a good year!

Excellent direction and images (9)
Top music (10)

A movie about the consequences of genetically modifying our environment
Bold visual and musical combination, very special score by Teiji Ito

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,4
Metascore 6,0
Roger Ebert 5,0
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 5,8
IMDB 5,9
Average critics 5,8
Average public 5,9

Cast: Emily Beecham, Ben Whishaw, Kerry Fox, Sebastian Hülk, Goran Kostić
Director: Jessica Hausner
Screenplay: Géraldine Bajard
Writer: Jessica Hausner
Director of Photography: Martin Gschlacht
Editor: Karina Ressler

“Lolo” by Julie Delpy (2015)

Great humor and dialogues

Cast: Julie Delpy, Dany Boon, Vincent Lacoste, Karin Viard, Antoine Lounguine
Director: Julie Delpy
Writer: Julie Delpy, Eugénie Grandval
Cinematographer: Thierry Abrogast
Editor: Virginie Bruant
Composer: Matthieu Lamboley