Author: grahams

” If the first order of business for any self-respecting film noir is a dead body with a story to tell, Ole Bornedal is quick to oblige. But rest assured that this twisted, visually energized genre… If the first order of business for any self-respecting film noir is a dead body with a story to tell, Ole Bornedal is quick to oblige. But rest assured that this twisted, visually energized genre bender has no further use for “custom,” and Just Another Love Story is anything but.

Jonas is a crime photographer, a family man, and a generally beleaguered resident of suburban malaise until heÂ’s involved in a car accident that leaves a stranger, Julia, unconscious in the hospital. Curiosity compels Jonas to visit her, but when JuliaÂ’s family mistakes him for her boyfriend, Sebastian (whom theyÂ’ve never met), Jonas readily steps into the role. His pretense would be short lived, but Julia awakens with amnesia and, enlivened by the new identity heÂ’s inherited, Jonas maintains the deception. Of course, memories return. And so do boyfriends.

Playing with flashbacks, employing a linearly fractured narrative, and freely manipulating noirÂ’s standard devices and archetypes, BornedalÂ’s dexterity with genre conventions is on full display here. Constantly aware of whatÂ’s predictable, he heads in the opposite direction. Moreover, he latches onto a completely universal impulse–the desire to reinvent ourselves. But fatalism rules in noir, and the cruel irony–tailor made for that dead body–is that living a life that isnÂ’t yours is a dangerous game, an illusory freedom. The truth always comes knocking at your door.”

“In I Love You, Man, a comedy from John Hamburg (Along Came Polly, co-writer of Meet The Parents, Meet The Fockers, Zoolander), Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd, Knocked Up The 40 Year Old Virgin) is a successful real estate agent who, upon getting engaged to the woman of his dreams, Zooey, (The Offices Rashida Jones), discovers, to his dismay and chagrin, that he has no male friend close enough to serve as his Best Man. Peter immediately sets out to rectify the situation, embarking on a series of bizarre and awkward man-dates, before meeting Sydney Fife (Jason Segel, Forgetting Sarah Marshall), a charming, opinionated man with whom he instantly bonds. But the closer the two men get, the more Peters relationship with Zooey suffers, ultimately forcing him to choose between his fiancée and his new found bro, in a story that comically explores what it truly means to be a friend.”

“Director Matteo Garrone’s epic, mesmerizing tour-de-force about Naples’ infamous Camorra was a critical sensation at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prize. A sweeping drama with documentary-like realism, Gomorrah explores the mafia’s vice-like hold on all aspects of life in the regions of Naples and Caserta (where the film was shot), as well as its creeping influence on international business and government. The film weaves together five stories of ordinary people forced to reckon with the heavy hand of the Camorra, where every decision, great or small, is a matter of life and death. Garrone’s (The Embalmer) ambitious and powerful breakthrough film sheds light on a shadow organization that rules by fear and unsparing violence, tacitly fostered from above and abroad by greed, corruption and complicity. Based on Roberto Saviano’s explosive international bestseller, which made him a target for mob threats. (Fully subtitled)”

“In a gritty and alternate 1985 the glory days of costumed vigilantes have been brought to a close by a government crackdown, but after one of the masked veterans is brutally murdered an investigation into the killer is initiated. The reunited heroes set out to prevent their own destruction, but in doing so discover a deeper and far more diabolical plot.”

The visionary Filipino director Brillante Mendoza envisions a crumbling soft-core porn palace as an allegory for the labyrinthine socio-political history of the Philippines in this chaotic, colorful and engaging film. Multiple generations of the Pineda family live in and operate a run-down movie house, ironically named The Family, which shows dated sex films and offers a discreet meeting place for male hustlers and their patrons. As the members of the family and their employees go about their daily activities, we get a glimpse of how they suffer and deal with each other’s sins and vices. Preoccupied with their personal demons, the family seems oblivious that, inside their cinema, another kind of business is going on between the “serbis” (service) boys and their customers.

Harking back to another Brattle favorite, Tsai Ming-Liang’s Goodbye Dragon Inn, The Family Theatre is as much a character in the film as any human. Unlike Tsai’s feature however, which depicted a cinema on its final, dismal day, SERBIS seethes with life – from the cranky employees, to the various marital problems reflected in all generations of the Pinedas, to the glimpses of explicit sex behind the scenes, to two mind-bending chase scenes through the maze-like guts of the cinema.

“François (played by François Bégaudeau, who wrote the screenplay based on his own experiences) and his fellow teachers prepare for a new year at a high school in a tough neighborhood. Armed with the best intentions, they brace themselves to not let discouragement stop them from trying to give the best education to their students. Cultures and attitudes often clash in the classroom, a microcosm of contemporary France. As amusing and inspiring as the teenaged students can be, their difficult behavior can still jeopardize any teacher’s enthusiasm for the low-paying job. François insists on an atmosphere of respect and diligence. Neither stuffy nor severe, his extravagant frankness often takes the students by surprise. But his classroom ethics are put to the test when his students begin to challenge his methods… Winner of the prestigious Palme d’Or at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film. Directed by Laurent Cantet (Heading South, Time Out).”

Adapted from the Hugo Award-winning, internationally best-selling novel, Coraline is a spine-tingling tale about a curious girl who unlocks a mysterious door in her family’s new home and enters into an adventure in a parallel reality. On the surface, this “Other World” eerily mimics her own life – though it is much more fantastical. In it, Coraline encounters different versions of her own life, including off-kilter neighbors and an Other Mother who attempts to keep her forever. Ultimately, Coraline must rely on her resourcefulness, determination and bravery to get back home.

One night at a bar, an old friend tells director Ari about a recurring nightmare in which he is chased by 26 vicious dogs. Every night, the same number of beasts. The two men conclude that thereÂ’s a connection to their Israeli Army mission in the first Lebanon War of the early eighties. Ari is surprised that he canÂ’t remember a thing anymore about that period of his life. Intrigued by this riddle, he decides to meet and interview old friends and comrades around the world. He needs to discover the truth about that time and about himself. As Ari delves deeper and deeper into the mystery, his memory begins to creep up in surreal imagesÂ…

Poppy (Sally Hawkins) is a life-loving, irrepressibly cheerful, Pollyanna-type primary school teacher who is thirty years old, single, and infinitely optimistic and accepting. She lives with her best friend and flatmate Zoe (Alexis Zegerman) in London. She is tested by a repressed driving instructor with anger problems (Eddie Marsan), and tests him in turn. She has exciting flamenco lessons, an encounter with a homeless man, a row with her pregnant sister, and a love-affair with the social worker guiding one of her students.