"Chicken With Plums" - Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud (2012)

"Chicken With Plums" is Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's follow-up to their 2007 animated masterpiece, "Persepolis."

The film tells the story of Nasser-Ali, a man whose violin breaks.  He can't find a suitable replacement, so he decides it's time to die.

This may not sound like the premise for a magical film full of wonder, but it is.

Toward the beginning of the film, we're treated to a montage of Nasser-Ali fantasizing about all the possible ways he could kill himself.

Each method is distasteful, so he crawls into bed to wait for death.

And that's where the adventure begins.

 

As Nasser-Ali lies in bed, willing himself to die, he reflects on his life.  The film is primarily a series of flashbacks showing how he came to this sorry state.

We see how he became a gifted musician and why he married a woman he never loved.

More importantly, we see the true reason for his death wish.

Too many art films focus on gorgeous visuals at the expense of its theme and characters.

"Chicken With Plums" is not one of them.  There is plenty beneath the surface.

Compliance - Craig Zobel (2012)

“Compliance” clearly wants to be either a rigid psychological thriller or a profound statement on sexual sadism.

It is neither.

The film takes place mostly in the backroom of a fast food restaurant as a prank phone call, over the course of a few hours, leads to a rape.

But Craig Zobel’s screenplay, based on a true story, can’t keep up with its concept.

It starts with a great deal of promise as the tension starts to build, but the focus shifts quickly from the victimization of Becky, our protagonist to absolute wonder over the stupidity of the characters.

As the employees continue to believe the caller, who claims to be a policeman demanding a strip-search of a young girl, it’s impossible to believe none of them would question the caller’s credibility.

The film makes the case that at least some of the workers have been duped and are victims, just like Becky and that’s a conclusion I found strikingly offensive.

The employees are complicit in the crime, not only the manager, Sandra, who takes point on the search, but also co-workers like Kevin and Marti, who seem to know something is wrong but don’t help their friend.

The concept “Compliance” is based on is interesting and should have produced a thought provoking film.

Sadly, writer/director Craig Zobel just doesn’t have the capability of pulling that off.

"2 Days in New York" - Julie Delpy (2012)

 Julie Delpy channels Woody Allen with "2 Days in New York and she does it quite well.
She also draws from filmmakers like Eric Rohmer.

But it would be misleading to say "2 Days in New York" is derivative.
The film is her follow up to her 2007 film, "2 Days in Paris."

The film follows Marion, played by Delpy and her boyfriend, Mingus, played by Chris Rock.

 

Rock gives an admirably understated performance as Mingus, who serves as Marion's confidant before becoming her lover.


Marion falls for Mingus shortly after her marriage disintegrates and, unlike her romance in "2 Days in Paris," we can actually see the attraction here.

Mingus is supportive and loving without the condescension we've seen from Marion's past lovers.

The story involves Marion's eccentric family who comes to visit from Paris and how they interact with Mingus, a decided pragmatist.
"2 Days in New York" is a character-driven comedy and the people we're asked to spend 90 minutes with are interesting and funny.

The film works on every level and although it's slight, is has more insight into relationships than most romantic comedies and it's easily one of the best films of the year.

"Ruby Sparks" - Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris (2012)

The dissolution of the reality barrier has been explored before in films like "Stranger than Fiction" and Woody Allen's "Purple Rose of Cairo."

But never has the line between art and life been explored so thoroughly as it is in "Ruby Sparks."

Calvin is a writer suffering from writer's block until he finds himself romantically drawn to one of his characters.

When he finally returns to his typewriter, he does so with such fervor he brings his ideal woman to life.

Calvin acknowledges his love for Ruby even before she manifests herself.

Aside from being Calvin's dream girl, she's also sweet and vulnerable in her own right.

He has written her exactly to his liking, having her say things like "The first time I saw you, I said, 'Look at that boy.  I'm going to love him forever and ever.'"

Of course nothing good ever lasts and trouble starts when Ruby starts showing she has a will of her own.

 

Calvin can keep writing to change her for convenience's sake, but no matter how often he tweaks Ruby, she never fits his idea of perfect because how good can the product of a neurotic mind be?

At one point in the third act, we're horrified at the controlling monster Calvin has become.

The point of the film is that no abstract ideal can ever be a match for a real, autonomous human being.

Make no mistake, "Ruby Sparks" is not a romantic comedy.

 

It is, however, insightful, endearing, forgiving and easily one of the best films of 2012.

And as a side note, "Ruby Sparks" gets points for having the couple attend a screening of Peter Jackson's zombie film "Dead Alive" and including Plastic Bertrand's "C'est Plane Pour Moi" on the soundtrack.

"Ruby Sparks" Featurette

Here's a behind the scenes look at the making of the upcoming film "Ruby Sparks."


I'm actually pretty excited about this film.

"A Dangerous Method" - David Cronenberg (2011) - A Video Review

David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method" is nothing short of a masterpiece.

I realize the film is hardly new - it's been on Blu-ray and DVD for months now, but after watching it several times, I have to post something about it.

I'm at a loss trying to think of a word stronger than "adore" to describe how i felt about this film.

I wish this movie were a lollipop so i could lick it.

A friend of mine who had seen the film said she would have liked to see more about the work and lives of Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud.

But that's not the point of the film.

"A Dangerous Method" isn't about the work of these pioneering psychoanalysts, but about how their egos overshadowed their work.

The film follows Jung and his patient, turned protégé, turned lover, Sabina Spielrein.

Spielrein is truly the protagonist of the film and her character defines both Jung's character and frames the conflict with his mentor, Sigmund Freud.

Artists have examined human sexuality for centuries and most come to the obvious conclusion that humans are driven by their desires.

But with films like "A Dangerous Method," "Crash," Videodrome" and "Dead Ringers," David Cronenberg takes it a step further.

He argues, rather articulately, that everybody is, at their core, perverse, a sentiment I happen to agree with.

We're not as much motivated by our desires as we are dominated by our perversions.

With "A Dangerous Method," Cronenberg makes his point beautifully and affectionately.