Batch #8

A L'aventure DVD [2009]
Only the French could get away with something like this. This is the final part in Jean-Claude Brisseau's loose trilogy about sexual taboos and it's one of those films where the plot is specifically designed so that the director's opinions can be read out by the characters. Essentially, the plot doesn't matter too much, it's mainly about the dialogue.

A pretty but annoying young woman becomes unfulfilled by her fiance's sex, resulting in her first pissing him off by masturbating in the next room, then by actually having an affair with a psychologist named Greg. Through Greg, Sandrine then meets a couple of other women who lead sexually diverse lives, and, when all is said and done, get down to shagging in various ways. Obviously there is lots of philosophical drivel along the way, including some bizarre scenes of hypnosis, and the idea that the subconscious mind can affect the body in more ways than one.

The lesbian sex in this is very realistic, to the point that you'd be forgiven for thinking that they were actually touching each other in an explicit way. But there's enough of that around anyway, and the director manages to show it without degrading his actresses. A quick brightening up of the picture and a few presses of the zoom button reveals a girl's mouth very close to another's vagina, but no actual contact is made. But congrats to the director for faking it, and yet making it so arousing (take that, 9 Songs, you pile of shit).

If you can be bothered to sit through the lengthy chatter, or actually have an interest in this kind of thing, you may find it an enjoyable viewing. To me, though, I'm kinda getting tired of listening to the French waffle on about life, love and the universe. As if Breillat hadn't already bored us enough with her opinions on sex.
(3 out of 5)

Izgnanie (The Banishment) DVD [2007]
This is a very beautiful and moving Russian film about a family who take a trip out to stay at a house in the countryside. Once there, the wife informs the husband that she is pregnant for the third time, but that the child is not his. The film displays perfectly his sadness and internal torment upon this revelation, as he battles with his own desires over how to resolve the issue.

The movie reminds somewhat of Tarkovsky, with its long, slow shots and images of wind rustling through the trees. Rather than being a copy, though, it adds to the atmosphere and conveys Alex's distress perfectly. Throughout its 2 and a half hour length, it never becomes boring.

The only problem is the ending. The fact that we find out we have been deliberately misled from the very beginning about the child, just to provide a tragic twist on the story. It's the kind of thing you expect from an overrated Dan Brown novel. I felt that it let the film down at the final hurdle.
(4 out of 5)

A Londoni Ferfi (The Man Fron London) DVD [2007]
I fell in love with Bela Tarr's films when I watched Satantango, which has now become my favourite movie. It was an immense (7 hour), beautiful and challenging film, which put him in his rightful place as a master director, alongside the likes of Tarkovsky. When deciding to feast myself on his back-catalogue, I wasn't sure whether I would be treated to the same standard of artistic excellence, or whether I would be let down.

This film didn't disappoint. It is recorded in trademark black and white, with a pace that a snail could overtake, but it's completely enthralling from start to finish. Every scene throughout its 130 minutes (not 90, as the Artifical Eye DVD erroneously states) unfolds upon your screen with a subtle and deliberate beauty, drawing you in even when nothing appears to be happening. That's when you know you have the mark of a great filmmaker, when you can film the mundane and make it engrossing.
(5 out of 5)

Bes Vakit (Times & Winds) DVD [2006]
This is a superb film from Turkey about a group of young children growing up in a remote mountain village, and the trials they face as their lives unfold. One of the children endures a fruitless and brutal relationship with his father and yearns to kill him. With his friends, he devises many childish ways of ending the old man's life.

Full of slow tracking shots showing the enourmous beauty of the scenery, this film is full of tender emotion as the children go about their lives as best they know how. It's ultimately quite a sad journey. The child acting is pretty good.
(4 out of 5)