Diary of a Nymphomaniac

I have no reason why I selected Diary of a Nymphomanic other than it is free on Amazon Prime. It is a movie in Spanish and French and takes place in Barcelona. It stars Belén Fabra, Leonardo Sbaraglia, and Llum Barrera. The title, Diary of a Nymphomaniac tells you a lot about the plot of this movie because it follow Valére and her diary.

Valére is upfront about the fact that she enjoys sex more than anything else, and has since her first time at the age of 14. Twenty-eight now, she exhausts frequent sex partner Alex (David Vert), and eagerly anticipates the occasional visit to Barcelona from Hassan (Pedro Gutiérrez), who is on her wavelength about their trysts being about nothing but mutual pleasure. A search for a new job leads her to Jaime (Leonardo Sbaraglia), a handsome, somewhat older gentleman who inspires love as well as lust. Will this bring her a new level of satisfaction?

Well, no. Jaime eventually shows himself to be far from the ideal mate, and at times this seems to be a bit of a cheat; if the movie is supposed to be about Valére and her attitudes toward sex, should so much of it be driven by some supporting character's personality defect. In hindsight, yes, it should; Valére, for all her knowledge of physical intimacy, has no idea of how to deal with a broken heart, and her reaction to having her heart broken is a believable way to set up the movie's final third. 

This movie is one of those movies that is not bad but it is also not good. I do not recommend this movie.

The Intouchables

My daughter recommended that I watch The Intouchables, and I am glad that she did because this is an excellent movie, as good as you will see. The Intouchable is a French film that stars two talented actors, François Cluzet, and Omar Sy, and is based on a true story. Philippe Pozzo Di Borgo, a French aristocrat, was in a dramatic para-glider accident in the French Alps in 1993 that made him a quadraplegic. He needed servants to take care of him 24 hours a day. So how does the story develop?

The instant Philippe (rich, white, cranky, paralyzed) meets Driss (poor, black, cranky, strong), he becomes taken with Driss' naïveté. Driss is unlike anyone Philippe has ever dared to come into contact with. He’s loud, crass, and completely unfazed about how he is negatively perceived. But the most important character trait within Driss, and the one Philippe becomes so enamored with, is his gusto for life. He drives fast, takes drugs at leisure, paints when he feels like it, drinks when he’s in the mood, dances in public – he’s a guy who does what he wants when he wants. In the past, Driss' life philosophy has landed him in trouble (when we meet him, he’s come off a brief stint in jail), but under the guise of Philippe’s bottomless pocket, Driss’ eccentricities become acceptable.

That is all I will say because this is a movie that you should move to the top of your list of movies to see. I highly recommend this special movie.

Shadows in the Sun (The Shadow Dancer)

Last night I was in the mood for a movie that would take me back to Italy. I decided to watch Shadows in the Sun which takes place in a small village in beautiful Tuscany. I made a good selection and enjoyed this somewhat predictable movie. It stars Harvey Keitel, Joshua Jackson, and the very beautiful Claire Forlani. 

It follows the story of Jeremy (Jackson) a young writer who works for an English publishing house. Jeremy dreams of being a novelist but can't quite get past his fear of making the commitment needed to do so. He is sent to Italy to find a famous reclusive writer Weldon Parish (Keitel) and convince him to write again. What follows is a journey of exploration as Weldon tries to break Jeremy out of his shell, forcing him to experience life… but the sword cuts both ways as Jeremy tries to make Weldon face his own fears.

Keitel is absolutely fantastic as the older writer afraid he can never be what he once was. Claire Forlani plays Weldon's daughter and Jeremy's love interest. The chemistry between them works very well. Giancarlo Giannini is the village priest and is absolutely wonderful.

This is an enjoyable and beautifully done movie. I recommend it.

Watchers

Last night I started watching the historical fiction film Contessa. It was so predictable and bad that I could not get through it. I decided to watch one of the movies available on HBO GO, and I found Watchers, based on the book by Dean Koontz. I read this book many years ago. The only reason I read this book was the principal character is a highly intelligent golden retriever; thus, I decided to watch this 1988 movie to see this intelligent dog. The film was just as bad as the book, but I did watch this dog communicate with the human characters. I especially liked when the dog beat Travis, the main human character, in a game of Scrabble. 

I do not recommend this movie.

30 Beats

I was not very selective in the movie that I watched last night, and I ended up watching a mediocre film, 30 Beats. It has a good lineup of actors including Condola Rashad, Justin Kirk, and Jennifer Tilly. 30 Beats follows the pathway of some movies that I have watched recently. It follows a circular pathway with each new character leading to the next principal character. What is the story?

The circular chain of connections begins with the encounter of the virginal Julie (Condola Rashad), who presents herself to Adam (Justin Kirk), a former teacher, and bluntly asks him to deflower her. Their meeting involves a red string kabbalah bracelet with possibly mystical power that seemingly renders Adam, a champion womanizer, sexually dysfunctional.

He is so distressed that he consults Erika (Jennifer Tilly), a psychic who cures him and then seduces him. No sooner has he left her lair than her occasional boyfriend, a bike messenger named Diego (Jason Day), comes calling. Erika has an elaborate set of rules to keep things hot but casual between them. When Diego confesses that he fancies himself in love with Laura (Paz de la Huerta), a woman he has been discreetly stalking, Erika offers friendly advice.

You get the idea of what happens from this point, and, ultimately it leads back to Julia. While this is not a bad movie, it is not a good movie either. I do not recommend this movie.

Lianna

I decided on a film in English after a run of foreign films. I also thought that I would watch an older movie, one from the 1980s. I selected Lianna that stars  Linda Griffiths, Jane Hallaren, and Jon DeVries. I found Lianna to be well acted, and way ahead of its time because the principal topic was about lesbianism. This was a taboo topic in the early 1980s.

Lianna is a film dealing with the coming out of a young woman in the midst of a failing marriage. Lianna is a 33-year old woman married to a self-centered college teacher and mother of two children. Though her family does not seem to greatly prosper, it would appear on the surface that Lianna lives a comfortable life. Just when her husband pushes things too far, Lianna starts up a sexual relationship with her night school teacher. Lianna cares enough for this woman that she becomes openly gay, and moves out of her home. She quickly learns that her coming out may cause more problems than she originally bargained for. She is forced to live in a tiny apartment and financially support herself. As one might expect, Lianna's children are somewhat alienated by their mother's new lifestyle. Additionally, Lianna's best friend no longer wishes to speak to her. And perhaps worst of all, the woman she came out for, does not wish to be committed to her. 

I recommend this well-done, ground breaking movie.

Elles

Whenever I can find a Juliette Binoche movie I am going to watch it because even if the movie is not good I know that I will see the great acting skills of Juliette Binoche. Last night I saw her in Elles, a French film. I was not disappointed.

Juliette Binoche plays Anne who is a reporter for Elle Magazine. She is writing a story about two college students who are earning a living as call girls. In contrast, Anne leads the life of a typical bourgeois woman, with a husband and two sons, in a big Parisian apartment. Anne has all of the material things of life, but she ultimately realizes that her life is limited and shallow. Her conversations with the two college girls make her realize that there is more to life than she has, and she starts to doubt her own values and certainties.  

At first, she is shocked by the girls' relaxed attitude towards prostitution. Later on, she realizes that in reality these girls are everything she herself isn't: independent, adventurous, open-minded, rebellious, and ambitious. Binoche is perfect in the way she expresses the doubts and confusion of her character. 

I very much enjoyed this film. I recommend Elles.

Discreet

Again I was fortunate to discover an excellent foreign film. Discreet is the first movie that I have seen from South Africa. This is my type of movie because it is essentially a serious drama that principally involves just the dialog between two people. The two people in this film are Thomas and Monique.

Thomas is a religious-infected virgin who does the unspeakable. He visits a upscale hooker, Monique. She initially prepares for her typical client. You see Monique preparing for her client, and you will probably think is she a nymphomaniac, innocent school girl or just a shoulder for some poor man to cry on? Whatever it is, she’s ready to fulfill the fantasy.

But Thomas isn’t her typical client and Monique finds herself struggling to give him exactly what he wants. Throughout the course of the evening the tension, both emotional and sexual, builds as the two characters misunderstand each other on the surface, but connect with each other in a much deeper fashion that either could believe.

I definitely recommend this well-done, interesting drama.

Clara et moi

Clara et moi is a French film that stars Julien Boisselier and Julie Gayet. I really enjoyed watching this realistic love story that takes place in one of my favorite cities, Paris.

Antoine (Boisselier) is an actor, having given up his business career to pursue his dream. He is unhappy that he has not yet found the right women. One day, serendipity strikes on the Metro when Antoine meets a beautiful woman, Clara (Gayet), who gives him her telephone number. At a surprise birthday party that evening Antoine, though happy with his close friends' display of love for him, thinks only of the beautiful Clara. As expected he calls Clara, they meet, a romance begins, and they fall in love. Feeling commitment coming, they decide to be tested for HIV and Clara discovers she is HIV positive. Antoine cannot deal with this fact and decides to not support her. He movies on!  You can see that this is very realistic. It did not matter to Antione that he had a solid, loving relationship. I will say not more. I highly recommend this excellent movie that will make you think of the nature of modern relationships. 

Hemel

Last night I decided to once again watch a foreign film. I decided on the Dutch movie Hemel. I liked the movie because it was very well done, and thought provoking. It stars Hannah Hoekstra, Hans Dagelet, and Rifka Lodeizen. Hoekstra is Hemel, which means 'heaven' in Dutch. The essence of this movie is her quest to determine the difference between sex and love while establish an adult relationship with her father. It is interesting that I once knew a girl who was exactly like Hemel. How does the story develop?

The father is Gijs (Dagelet), a still good-looking and virile late 50s middle class man, a widower who works in high-end auctions and is in the habit of dating attractive younger women. His daughter is Hemel who is 23 and who, it appears, experiments somewhat recklessly with sex in relationships that have no sense of emotional intimacy. Her emotional life, in all its unconventional contours and trouble spots, seems to exist within the boundaries of her friendship with her dad. 

Indeed, in most instances here, Hemel resists bonding with her sexual consorts. She taunts them, belittles them, finding their erotic fixations tiresome or invasive. This is shown in episodes or chapters that focus on Hemel’s sexual adventures, mixed with her much less dramatic encounters with Gijs, what finally emerges as the center of the film is a father/daughter story. Late in the film, we find that Hemel is dating an older man, a lover she finds that she can confide in willingly and with an ease she finds sweet and touching. Married to a colleague of her father’s, the man resists long-term commitment, a revelation that Hemel finds shattering.

I recommend seeing Hemel if you like well done, psychological drama.