paracommunications

The Wicker Man (1973) is not so much a horror film as a thriller with an appealing subtext critical of religion.

Sergeant Howie: What religion can they possibly be learning jumping over bonfires?
Lord Summerisle: Parthenogenesis.
Sergeant Howie: What?
Lord Summerisle: Literally, as Miss Rose would doubtless say in her assiduous way, reproduction without sexual union.
Sergeant Howie: Oh, what is all this? I mean, you’ve got fake biology, fake religion… Sir, have these children never heard of Jesus?
Lord Summerisle: Himself the son of a virgin, impregnated, I believe, by a ghost…

Alicia: This is a very strange love affair.
Devlin: Why?
Alicia: Maybe the fact that you don’t love me.

Kleinmann: He does quality circumcisions. I’ve seen his work.

Antoine: Y’a un grand proverbe ch’timi qui dit “Quand y’a un étranger qui vient vivre dans ch’nord, il braie deux fois: quand il arrive, et quand il repart”.

Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis, 2008.

‘Intolerable cruelty‘ is a romantic comedy a bit a la Cary Grant, or rather it tries to but is not quite there.

I usually add a quote from the film, but the best scene in this film has no dialogue: Miles and Wrigley bump into Wheezy Joe in Miles’ house (now occupied by Marylin). They themselves hired the hitman to kill Marylin, but are now trying to stop the assassination. However, Marylin had managed to beat Wheezy Joe and is paying more to turn the contract on Miles. Wheezy Joe pulls a gun and his asthma inhaler, and in the confusion sprays Miles with the inhaler and shoots the gun in his mouth.

Far from a top film, but that scene is hilarious.

It’s quite a fun movie, but then again, they had rather good material to build upon.

Mais la raison n’est pas ce qui règle l’amour.

Alceste in ‘Le Misanthrope’ (Act I, Sc I), Molière (1666).

‘Waitress’ (2007) is a romantic comedy that builds on interesting characters performed by competent actors. While I think that an 8.1 rating in the IMDb is too much (‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ has an 8.0), it’s funny enough and it actually has rhythm until the end.

Writer, director and supporting actress Adrienne Shelly was murdered while shooting the film, and I don’t know whether this is the reason for a feeling of incompleteness, of “we have gone this far, and now we don’t know how to give this film a good ending”. It must be the most disappointing happy ending I’ve ever seen.

‘Mononoke-hime’ (‘Princess Mononoke’) is a beautiful anime epic that tells a story of conflict between different social groups that need to share limited resources, and how this inherently leads to violence that can destroy everything.

This is as well an unusual film in the sense that it doesn’t present conflict as a matter of good versus evil. Disturbingly, ‘Mononoke-hime’ doesn’t present a bad guy that can be killed in a loud way to solve the problem, as most action films do.

Or you can see it as an engaging film with lots of fights, magic creatures and wonderful scenery in post-medieval Japan.

Lady Eboshi: What exactly are you here for?
Prince Ashitaka: To see with eyes unclouded by hate.

“Family Law” (“Derecho de familia”) is a fun and feel-good film. While I admit having a soft spot for Argentinian Spanish, it’s not only the accent that made me enjoy it.

Nothing seems to happen in 1 h 40 min, yet there is so much going on, family, love, death, father-son relationships… Even practitioners of Law are portrayed in a favourable light!