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Tufguy2000
Reviews
Foreign English (2008)
A little heart, for a change..
It's too often with short, independent films that directors feel the need to use that short amount of time to shock you into an emotion or fear.. through blood, gore, incest, guns, violence, absurdity, etc.
It's refreshing to see a short film in which you get to see a story with heart and humor.. and a slice of life with a little compassion. Making you FEEL.
FOREIGN English is one of those films. You have an endearing lead character (yes, I also echo the "great actor" sentiment of the other post-ers) who you side with and laugh with, and feel for.
Some of the other acting wasn't as strong and as a side effect, left some of the dialog sounding forced. Diab writes in his own style, as I've seen his other films, and it becomes obvious when his actors don't catch his meaning, and the film suffers as a result.
I didn't think as much of this film on the first go 'round, perhaps because of the poor screening facilities, but the next go was on a big screen HD TV which really showcased some of the beautiful shots that Diab was trying to capture. There are some nice shots and the story is well told.
***spoilers** I think it's funny to see what would happen if you had a man who quite literally didn't understand women. The interview scene was well done, because that's the first time it really hammers home what's going on.. the man sneaking a peak at the interviewer's breasts... not hearing a word she's saying.. and still asking for the male manager. Very nice. And when we get to hear the garbled words as he hears a woman.. that helps us to feel his pain too.
.. and on a side note.. when you get a shot of the breasts and see that they're an older woman's breasts and not some teeny bopper.. it hits home that even older men do this and it's not quite as creepy or weird that he's checking them out, because in this case, she was much older than me, maybe. This makes you think more at that moment.. "well. GOOD FOR YOU!"
A couple things I didn't get though..
- Why could he understand the Irish/ Scottish women? They're still women, even if from near his island.
- What the hell were they doing in the coffee shop in the first place if they didn't have time to order anything or to talk to anyone.
**** But if you let those little things aside and just enjoy it.. The lead character has enough life and humanity in him to make it definitely worth watching on his journey.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
La una - Spoilers inside
I saw this movie a few weeks ago and thought this was truly one of the greatest films I'd seen in a long time. This is not only a brilliant idea, and original as far as I know, but very creatively done. There is something for everyone. Who hasn't suffered loss in a relationship? Who hasn't hurt so bad from some loss that they didn't at least entertain the thought of "what if I never met the person in the first place?" Or Can I just get past this damn hurt part and fast forward to the living again? Very few. But for them, there's still the memories of getting picked on as a kid or getting bathed in the sink.
And the ending. Incredible depiction of human nature to go for the forbidden fruit! Even when they are telling their own selves that the relationship is bad and that the person is horrible.. they still want to go back to eachother. It's like in real life.. you can tell yourself over and over again that someone is wrong for you, and you know it.. yet, there's something that draws you. This movie just turns that inside person to life... and each character is literally TELLING THEMSELVES to stay away. And excellent job all around to cast, writer and director in catching the awkward feelings and embarassment of listening to yourself trashtalk a near stranger that you have developed a new crush on. Great scene! I couldn't stop laughing.
But here's the thing that I saw, and maybe I'm too much like my Highschool Poetry teacher, reading things that aren't there...BUT...
Anyone else notice that the van door was missing the "c"? I can only assume that this is on purpose, because, Why else? So it got my mind going. I presume the director was leaving a hidden little treasue/ puzzle for the audience. I don't speak Spanish, but what little I do know, makes me assume that the "La una" left behind when the "c" is taken off the door means "The One". By itself, it doesn't really mean much. But if there is no "c" in "the one", does that also mean...
There is no seein' the one.
Which is what Lacuna does. Erase your mind so that there is no seeing "the one."
Anyone know anything more about this? Am I on to something or is this just old news?