MOVIE REVIEW: BEAST OF THE SOUTHERN WILD

A six-year-old girl from the southern Delta searches for her long-lost mother after her father falls ill and her world spins out of balance in the film from director Benh Zeitlin that took home the Grand Jury Prize and Best Cinematography award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Benh Zeitlin

Cast: Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry, Lowell Landes, Levy Easterly

Release Date: Jun 29, 2012

Rated PG-13 for child Imperilment, Brief Sensuality, Language, Some Disturbing Images and Thematic Material

Runtime: 1 hr. 33 min.

Genres: Drama

Review:

Benh Zeitlin’s first full length film is a magical experience that’s deceptively simple but incredibly dense. Zeitlin’s film is a visual marvel which captures the childlike wonder of innocence with a tangible authenticity which seeps through the screen. It’s the type of film which if instantly engaging and mesmerizing as well. Quvenzhané Wallis & Dwight Henry serve as the film’s core throughout. Zeitlin’s decision to cast non actors really adds to the feel of the film. Quvenzhané Wallis is just as impressive as I’d heard. She carries herself with a wonderful sense of strength and awareness of self throughout. It’s always tough to gauge with child actors if it’s a performance or just their innate personality seeping through, regardless she’s perfect in the lead role. I was just as impressed with Dwight Henry’s work especially since he’s truly a non actor, he owns a bakery. Together they work with a fascinating chemistry which is endearing and heartbreaking at the same time.

A

MOVIE REVIEW: AMOUR

An octogenarian couple find their love put to the ultimate test when one of them suffers a stroke, and the other must assume the role of the caretaker in this compassionate yet unsentimental drama from director Michael Haneke. Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and Anne (Emmanuelle Riva) are retired classical-music teachers savoring their golden years in a comfortable apartment when Anne experiences a stroke that leaves her partially paralyzed. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Michael Haneke

Cast: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Emmanuelle Riva, Isabelle Huppert, Alexandre Tharaud, William Shimell.

Release Date: Dec 19, 2012

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material including a disturbing act, and brief language

Runtime: 2 hr. 7 min.

Genres: Art House/Foreign

Review:

Micahel Haneke has made a career of turning the mundane into something disturbing and unsettling. He’s also been a didactic director even if you don’t notice it. Early on in Amour, his deeply moving yet tragic love story, the director holds a shot of an audience. Haneke is telling us that this tale is about something that will affect all us at some point. It’s an interesting starting point into a brutally honest tale of love and devotion that goes into the depths of our hearts and limitations of our bodies. Haneke confines the film to the octogenarian’s well worn apartment creating a sense of claustrophobia throughout. In this confined space is a pair of legendary French actors who deliver incredibly powerful performances throughout. Emmanuelle Riva has received plenty of praise and awards for her performance here and it’s well earned. Riva’s work portraying Anne’s increasingly degraded state is masterful and shockingly realistic. Riva has a showier role but Jean-Louis Trintignant work shouldn’t go unnoticed. Trintignant’s turn is just as strong. His ability to convey a plethora of emotion through a single look or facial expression is just masterful. Together with Haneke’s direction they create a film which takes us through the end of a love story in all its naked truth.

A