Movie Review: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by JR

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Starring: Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner

Directed by: Julian Schnabel

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for nudity, sexual content, and some language

US Release Date: Nov. 30, 2007

In French with English subtitles

I went into this film not knowing what to expect. I remember seeing a preview for it a few months ago and thinking that it looked beautiful, but I don’t remember anything else from the preview. All I knew was that I knew I wanted to see it but I wasn’t exactly sure why. Sometimes that’s the best way to go into a movie: Not knowing a damned thing about it, only that you have a gut feeling that you’ll like it.

“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” is based on a true story. Jean-Dominque Bauby was the editor of Elle magazine in Paris when he had a completely debilitating stroke at the young age of 43. He was paralyzed from head to toe, what doctors call “locked-in syndrome”, unable to walk, talk, or communicate. He could only blink his left eye, which later a nurse uses to help him communicate. What is remarkable about this story is that as dire as the situation, Jean-Do (as his friends call him) eventually sees hope. Before his stroke, he had arranged a book deal with a publisher and he wants to write his book, with the aid of his nurse, written entirely by his communicating with his left eye.

Every time I’ve tried to recommend this film, I’ve heard the same things, “Wow that sounds depressing”. Yes, it does sound depressing. I mean, the story is very tragic. If you look closer, you’ll find that it’s a tremendously emotional and at times uplifting film. It’s a story of great loss and then great triumph over that loss. There’s nothing like this film. You could compare it to films like “My Left Foot” I suppose, but the comparisons are slim. “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” captivates you, paralyzing you for the entire duration of the film as you sit in awe and wonder at the reality of the events unfolding.

A great majority of the film is told from the point of view of Jean-Do through his one blinking eye. The audience is put in his position as much as possible, even allowing us to hear his internal monologue as he learns of his stroke and finds out he cannot speak. We get to hear his reactions to his visitors and his nurses and doctors. A great deal of it is humorous. Even in his state, he hasn’t lost his sense of humor.

It’s not easy to even imagine yourself in a similar situation. You can imagine all day being locked in a room or in a straightjacket or something, and the feelings of panic, paranoia, claustrophobia that come with it. Still it isn’t close to how Mr. Bauby must have felt. Being trapped in your own body...Wow. It’s a living nightmare.

“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” is an amazing film, an experience not to be missed. It’s the ultimate story of overcoming obstacles.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Jenny Rushing

beccajane67@yahoo.com

Update: “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” won two Golden Globe awards. One for Best Director, beating out the Coen Brothers for “No Country for Old Men”, Tim Burton for “Sweeney Todd” and Ridley Scott for “American Gangster. Quite a feat! It also won for Best Foreign Language Film, beating out Ang Lee’s “Lust/Caution”.

DVD Review: Angel-A by JR

Angel-A

Directed by: Luc Besson

Starring: Jamel Dubbouze, Rie Rasmussen

MPAA Rating: R for language and sexual content

DVD Release Date: November 20, 2007

Luc Besson is one of the most exciting filmmakers around. He’s given us Leon the Professional, La Femme Nikita, The Fifth Element, District B13, and many others. When I gear up to watch a Luc Besson film, I know that there will be crazy camera shots, fun relatable characters, and great action. He’s becoming one of my favorites. So when I first saw the trailers for “Angel-A”, I was naturally excited. The negative reviews didn’t deter me one bit, I was determined to see this movie.

“Angel-A” is about Andre, a gambling ne’er-do-well who just can’t seem to catch a break from the many many people he owes money to. In a desperate attempt to end his life, and in a scene reminiscent of “It’s a Wonderful Life”, Andre attempts to leap off of a bridge to his impending death, only to be stopped when a beautiful leggy blonde jumps off right before he does. She says her name is Angela, and she’s a chain smoking “sexy bitch” who claims that since Andre has saved her life, she must save his.

The unlikely pair weave in and out of black and white bleak and deserted Parisian streets, knocking out Andre’s debt one by one. Angela appears to be either a smooth talker or a prostitute. Andre’s not quite sure which.

The acting in this movie had to work in order for the movie to work. Andre and Angela are on screen by themselves for most of the movie. Andre, played by “Amelie”’s Jamel Debbouze, is perfect in this part. Most of it has to do with how he looks. He just looks like a very clueless guy who would be down on his luck. He looks dirty and disheveled and naïve. Angela, played by relatively unknown Rie Rasmussen, is perfect as well. She’s beautiful, but very aloof. You never know exactly what she’s thinking. She’s very flirtatious with just about everyone, but clearly favors Andre. The two of them together make a very strange but sweet pair.

The film is shot entirely in black and white, for what reason I do not know, but it’s gorgeous. Paris never looked so sad and deserted than it does in this film. The shots are bleak but full. Not a detail is unnoticed. The signature Luc Besson filmmaking style is easily spotted as well with the jerky shots around the characters, and the spectacular filming of the climactic ending.

With all of the things this film has going for it, it should be better than it is. The script has it’s moments of charm and wit, but for the most part is pretty dull. It’s very unfortunate, especially with all of the potential that this film has going for it.

If you’re a Luc Besson like me, this one should be a no-brainer. If you missed it in theaters, go rent it now. If not, skip it and go for one of the better Luc Besson films. Even with this semi-flop, he’s a director to keep your eyes peeled for.

3 out of 5 stars
Jenny Rushing

beccajane67@yahoo.com

DVD Review: La Vie En Rose by JR

La Vie en Rose (La Môme)

Directed by: Oliver Dahan

Starring: Marion Cotillard, Gerard Depardieu, Sylvie Testud, Jean-Pierre Martins

MPAA Rating: PG-13, for substance abuse, sexual content, brief nudity, language and thematic elements

DVD Release Date: November 13, 2007

*Spoilers*

Edith Piaf has become an icon of France with her powerful voice that transcends language. Even if the name Edith Piaf doesn't ring a bell, her most famous song "La Vie En Rose" will most definitely be familiar. The song is synonymous with France and is heard in everything from trailers for "Ratatouille" and even "Hairspray". The song is THAT famous. "La Vie En Rose" = France; Edith Piaf = France. What most people don't know is the life behind the icon. The film gives a look into the tumultuous life of this famed French singer.

The film follows Edith Piaf's life from early childhood to her death in 1963. She was abandoned as a young child by her mother, and then again by her father, and had to live in a cabaret, raised by the women who worked there. She grew so attached to the women of the night that when her father comes to get her, years later, she doesn't want to leave them. As an older teen, she is singing on the streets of Paris with a friend, when she is discovered by nightclub owner Luplee (Gerard Depardieu). He dubs her "The Little Sparrow", "La Mome Piaf", and this is where she makes her big break. Later, she is a big star performing at huge theaters across France and the US. She eventually meets the love of her life, a married French boxer named Marcel Cerdan, with whom she has an affair for years. She becomes addicted to drugs and alchohol, which age her beyond her years, and she dies at the early age of 47 of liver cancer.

The story of Edith Piaf's life is told mostly through long flashbacks, sometimes making it difficult to follow the timeline. But this doesn't take away from the movie at all, in my opinion. I was totally engrossed in the film from beginning to end, even with the long two and a half hour run time.

It is hard to talk about this film at all without mentioning Marion Cotillard's performance. Every actor in this film is perfect in their role, but Marion Cotillard is heaven-sent. I've been a huge fan of hers since "Love Me If You Dare", but this film will put her on the map. Oscar buzz has been building since this film debuted at Cannes and for good reason. If Cotillard is overlooked for Best Actress, I'll be shocked. She doesn't sing in the film, the director Oliver Dahan didn't think Piaf's distinctive voice could be replicated, but she lip synchs like nobody's business. If you're like me and you chuckled a bit that lip synching could be noteable, watch the film. You'll see. She looks like she's singing. She looks like she's feeling the emotion that Piaf felt. Lip synching aside, Cotillard is immaculate in the range of emotion that is required to play a real-life character like Piaf. My favorite scene by far is the tragic scene in which her lover dies. I was sobbing along with her, heck, I might start sobbing again right now just thinking about it. It's one of the most powerfully acted scenes ever.

This film is powerful, and Edith Piaf's voice is infectious. Even without knowing a lick of French, I purchased the soundtrack for this film and am singing along phonetically in my car. The music is that good. Following in the footsteps of Will Smith in "Ali" and Jamie Foxx in "Ray", Marion Cotillard's performance as Edith Piaf is one that the Academy will surely not overlook. She is hypnotizing. She is mesmerizing. She IS Edith Piaf.

4 out of 5 stars

Jenny Rushing

beccajane67@yahoo.com

Movie Review: Lust, Caution by JR

Lust, Caution (2007)
Starring: Tony Leung, Wei Tang, Joan Chen
Directed by: Ang Lee
Written by: Eileen Chang (story), James Schamus (screenplay)

Distributed by: Focus Features

MPAA Rating: NC-17 for explicit sexuality

In Japanese occupied China during the 1940’s, a resistance to the Chinese oppression is thriving. A group of school friends, upon hearing about the resistance, band together to make a change in the current state of their nation. They decide they will form a plan to assassinate Mr. Yee (Tony Leung), a Chinese born man who has joined the side of the Japanese. Because of her accomplishments in acting at their school, Wang Jiazhi (Wei Tang) is chosen to be the undercover spy, to befriend Mr. Yee, in order for her friends to murder him.

Tony Leung (“Infernal Affairs”, “2046”) is becoming one of my favorite actors. He’s got such a weathered but strong handsomeness about him. The emotion in his eyes and the delivery of his lines remind me of, dare I say it, Bogart himself. The slower pace of this film works in his favor, for he savors every moment that he is onscreen. Even when off-screen, his presence is still there. His character, Mr. Yee, is strong, weathered, and handsome, yes; but Mr. Yee is also tyrannous and unmerciful, having murdered many Chinese on behalf of the Japanese. Only Tony Leung could pull off as complex and as deeply scrutinized a character as Mr. Yee.

This is Wei Tang’s first movie and you’d never know it. She acts with such poise and grace and still is unfaltering in her friends’ mission to murder Mr. Yee, the man that she appears to be falling in love with. It seemed to me many times that she would blow her cover to be with Mr. Yee, I was literally on the edge of my seat. Wei Tang as Mak Tai Tai, the undercover name for Wang Jiazhi, is relentless and unmerciful. The perfect companion for Mr. Yee. The two of them have chemistry to spare.

Speaking of the chemistry between Mr. Yee and Mak Tai Tai, “Lust, Caution” is quickly gaining the reputation for being this obscene and almost soft-core porn. Ladies and gentlemen, let me tell you: It is not. Out of the 157 minute run time, the sex scenes couldn’t possibly take more than 10 minutes. This is merely the doing of the MPAA, whom apparently say that it’s OK to make movies like “Saw” rated R, but movies that actually show a normal human activity are to be forbidden. For those of you who must know more about these sex scenes, here you go. For those of you who don’t, skip to the paragraph after.

**Spoilers**

The first sex scene in the movie is very surprising. By this time, we have only seen Mr. Yee and Mak Tai Tai in a very formal setting. Mr. Yee has invited her to a hotel room and she goes, hoping to become his mistress and therefore allow her friends to get closer to him. She begins the foreplay by straddling him, taking the cigarette from his lips. You think that this is how it will be: lustful, teasing, but no. Mr. Yee rips her dress from her body and throws her on the bed on her stomach. He then pulls off his belt and ties her hands together behind her. It’s a very intense scene, but not worth an NC-17 rating.
The sex scenes that follow are less intense, and by “less intense” I mean like less of a rape scene, and are very heavy and intimate, but still not worthy of an NC-17 rating. The two actors are obviously nude, and could very well be actually having sex, but they are not. We see breasts, female genitalia and partial male genitalia.

**End Spoilers**

There are several movies that I can think of offhand that are sexually worse than this film and received R ratings. I’m sure there are several that you can think of as well. I thought that “Brokeback Mountain”, Ang Lee’s last film, was very similar in this aspect. Personally, I didn’t think that “Lust, Caution” was worthy of an NC-17 rating, but that’s my opinion.

“Lust, Caution” is a beautiful movie; Ang Lee has delivered once again. Despite the long run-time, and the slow pace, this film kept me completely engaged. This will definitely be one to watch come Oscar time.

4 out of 5 stars

Jenny Rushing

beccajane67@yahoo.com