Avenue Montaigne Tagged Articles at Cinematical
TIFF Watch: Italian 'My Brother is an Only Child' Picked Up by THINKFilm
Filed under: Drama », Foreign Language », Independent », Deals », ThinkFilm », Distribution », Toronto International Film Festival », Cinematical Indie »
Italian director Daniele Luchetti has made a dozen films since 1985. He won a David di Donatello Award as Best New Director for Domani accadrà in 1988, and his most recent film My Brother is an Only Child, has already won a Donatello Award for Best Script. My Brother opened to good box office returns in Italy in April, and shortly thereafter screened at Cannes as part of the Un Certain Regard section. In advance of its screening at the Toronto Film Festival, indieWIRE reports that THINKFilm has acquired North American rights to the film and plans to distribute it theatrically in March 2008.Our own James Rocchi saw it at Cannes. He described My Brother as a "light-but-sentimental story of family in 1960's Italy" that reminded him of the "soaring, sweeping, astonishing" The Best of Youth. Like that six-hour epic, My Brother "follows two brothers through years of Italian history, with their personal and political travails echoing down the years, but My Brother is an Only Child is both briefer and breezier." James concluded: "Comparing it to The Best of Youth is like comparing a drawing of a toy car to a Formula One racer, but My Brother is an Only Child is still a handsomely-made, brightly charming pleasure in it's own right."
THINKFilm has a mixture of English-language features and documentaries on their upcoming slate. Earlier this year, they released Avenue Montaigne, a feather-light comedy/drama, in February, and the film ended up making more than two million dollars, so perhaps they're hoping to repeat that success with My Brother is an Only Child.
Indies on DVD: Avenue Montaigne, Dynamite Warrior and Other Mindless Treats
Filed under: Action », Drama », Foreign Language », Horror », New on DVD », Cinematical Indie »
A lovely, light comedy/drama, Avenue Montaigne is out this week on DVD, and it's my top pick because of one scene. French country girl Jessica (Cécile De France) stumbles onto a rooftop and sees the Eiffel Tower looming across the Seine. The early morning sky is gray and threatening, but it seems like the perfect moment for the sun to burst forth upon our plucky heroine. Instead, the clouds grow darker and a rainstorm soaks her. It's a welcome reversal of expectations, for up until that point it appears Jessica will skip merrily around the upscale Avenue Montaigne forever, making friends and influencing lives with the light touch of an angel. But the rooftop rainstorm -- intercut with wordless images of the other key characters -- makes it apparent that writer/director Danièle Thompson is after something more elusive than simply riffing on Amelie. The DVD includes a "making of" feature and is anamorphic, so it should look gorgeous.When I wrote about Dynamite Warrior earlier this week, I didn't mean to damn it with faint praise. Among the new releases, it's what I would choose for a weekend party picture rental: gather your friends, shake some cayenne on your popcorn, serve the beverages of your choice and have a cheesy good time with the Thai rocket master of your dreams. You can even be a heretic and (horrors!) play the English dub. Extras include a "making of" feature, "behind the scenes" stunts and on-set footage. Other indie releases that sound like mindless treats include Baxter, a 1989 French horror flick about a bull terrier who can think (?!), and Yo-Yo Girl Cop, a 2006 Japanese action pic about an undercover operative who uses ... wait for it .. a yo-yo as her weapon of choice. Will wonders never cease?
Jeffrey M. Anderson's 400 Screens, 400 Blows -- Take a Chance on France
Filed under: Foreign Language », Columns », 400 Screens, 400 Blows », Cinematical Indie »
I saw Michael Moore's Sicko (1 screen) yesterday. But rather than talk about Moore's good points and bad points, or the nature of propaganda, or the broken health care system, or liberals vs. conservatives, I'd like to pick one small moment from the film and expand upon it. After surveying the French health care system and finding it good, Moore asks why the American government and American media want us to hate France so much. "Is it because they're afraid we'll like it?" he wonders?
He has a point. The anti-France sentiment of the last decade or so is based mostly on stupid insults and jokes about surrendering (see last year's brain-dead Flushed Away for an example). It's the type of stuff the class bully comes up with and everyone just goes along. But if we stop for a moment and use our common sense, the French have it pretty good. Aside from the free health care depicted in Sicko, and their apparent longevity (despite their taste for wine, cigarettes and fatty foods), they've got one of the most beautiful cities in the world, great food, landmarks, music, and some of the finest filmmakers in the world.
Academy Shortlists Foreign Oscar to Nine
Filed under: Drama », Foreign Language », Independent », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Awards », New Releases », IFC », Sony Classics », ThinkFilm », Warner Independent Pictures », Fox Searchlight », The Weinstein Co. », Lists », Oscar Watch », Cinematical Indie »
With only a week away from announcing the Oscar nominations, and with no apparent need to do so, the Academy has pared down its list of eligible foreign-language films from 61 to nine. This is the first time the Academy has shortlisted the category, but the decision to do so falls in line with a number of other changes pertaining to the category. Those changes, which I told you about last summer, are a good thing for at least two of the nine films. Water and Black Book each would have been disqualified in previous years, but now their language issues are in full compliance with the rules. Of course, had they not made the cut, there might have been some happier countries in Asia or Australia, the two continents not represented (Antarctica may get some love from Happy Feet's animation nomination). It is too bad that Japan couldn't claim Golden Globe winner Letters From Iwo Jima and also too bad for Oz that Ten Canoes wasn't chosen.
Jeremy Renner Wants To Be An Avenger
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Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
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Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
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