March 15th 2024
Nyad (streaming on Netflix)
American Fiction (streaming on Amazon Prime)
More from the Alliance Francaise French Film Festival
So, did you watch the Oscars? What a big win for Oppenheimer with poor old Barbie pretty much missing out (except for Best Song). As I wait to catch a couple of this week's releases that I've missed, I thought I'd bring you two streaming films that were nominated for Oscars - both very worthy viewing. Plus the French Flim Festival powers on, and I have a couple more for you to consider.
Nyad
Dir: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
Length: 121 mins
Streaming on Netflix
 |
© Netflix - a beautiful friendship, and a
determined woman for whom age means nothing |
Long distance swimmer Diana Nyad (Annette Bening) first tried to swim the 100 miles from Cuba to Florida when she was 28 years old. She failed, but thirty years later, at the age of 62, she made another five attempts to achieve the record swim. This is the incredible story of how she did this with the help of her best friend Bonnie (Jodie Foster). Foster and Bening were each nominated in the recent Oscars for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. Although neither won, these are two wonderful, powerful performances, in an inspiring true story showing that you are never too old to pursue your dreams. Despite the film following a tried and true formula, it succeeds richly thanks not only to the performances, but also the cleverly recreated swims, with all the attendant excitement and dangers. Rhys Ifans is impressive as John Bartlett, the navigator responsible for charting the currents during the swim attempts. But for me what is most notable is how Foster and Bening defy ageism in being unafraid to front up, wrinkles and all, and show us that women don't have to fit the Hollywood glamor stereotype to be top in their field.4 - highly recommended
American Fiction
Dir: Cord Jefferson
Length: 117 mins
Streaming on Amazon Prime
 |
© Netflix - Wright is a revealtion as the
writer whose plot backfires |
Thelonious Ellison, nicknamed Monk (Jeffrey Wright), is an aspiring writer who has achieved limited success. He hates the trend in American literature which, as he sees it, stereotypes blacks, and dishes up the sort of fiction in which downtrodden, criminal, drug-addicted (etc etc) black folk battle through their lives. And he hates the way the establishment of white publishers loves and profits from this type of literature. To prove a point he writes a novel, under a pseudonym, employing the same old tired tropes and plotlines he has reviled. The novel is a resounding success and Monk finds himself caught up in the very world he detests, and becomes the subject of an increasingly convoluted drama centring upon his bogus identity. Wright was another nominated actor in this year's Oscars. What a wonderful, subtle and funny performance he gives. All the characters border just on this side of outright satire, which allows the film to be at once hilarious, and socially observant. I especially love the ambiguous possible alternative endings.4 - highly recommended
More from . . .
Alliance Francaise French Film Festival
Until April 2
Along Came Love: Single mother Madeleine had fathered a child by a German soldier and keeps the father's identity a secret from her son Daniel, much to the boy's distress. After the war she meets academic Francois and the two marry. But Madeleine's past, along with Francois' deeply-held secrets, create difficulties in their lives. This is a bit of a sweeping melodrama/epic, which starts at the end of World War 2 and moves through several decades. I just wish they could have employed better ageing makeup!
Les Enfants du Paradis (Children of Paradise): This classic 1945 black and white drama is most definitely epic - the first part runs for 101 minutes and the second for 128 minutes. Apparently it has been voted the best ever French film. I saw it years go and it is certainly unforgettable; the tale of a beautiful courtesan Garance, loved by four men, and all set in the theatrical scene in Paris in the mid-nineteenth century. Google for session times (limited) and don't miss your chance to catch this amazing film on the big screen.
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