I KILLED MY MOTHER d: Xavier Dolan
J’ai tué ma mère / I Killed My Mother (2009)
Direction and Screenplay: Xavier Dolan
Cast: Xavier Dolan, Anne Dorval, François Arnaud, Suzanne Clément
Xavier Dolan’s semi-autobiographical J’ai tué ma mère / I Killed My Mother has been getting a lot of attention, mostly because Dolan is 19 and has won three awards at Cannes for his first film. A former child actor, Dolan spent some of his acting money to make this film about an adolescent (played by himself) who hates his mother.
I really wanted to like I Killed My Mother because it’s Canadian and made by such a young fellow. I even thought Dolan could be the Canadian Orson Welles! But he’s not, and I Killed My Mother [...]
by Keith Waterfield | July 28, 2009
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Tags: Anne Dorval, Family Drama, Film Reviews, François Arnaud, Gay Interest, Gay Movies, I Killed My Mother, J'ai tué ma mère, Xavier Dolan
TOKYO SONATA d: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Tokyo Sonata (2008)
Direction: Kyoshi Kurosawa
Screenplay: Kyoshi Kurosawa, Max Mannix, Tachiko Tanaka
Cast: Teruyuki Kagawa, Kyôko Koizumi, Inowaki Kai, Yû Koyanagi, Kôji Yakusho, Haruka Igawa, Kanji Tsuda, Kazuya Kogima
Some reviews and commentaries describe Tokyo Sonata, winner of this year’s Asian Film Awards for best film and best screenplay, as showing the disintegration of an "ordinary" Japanese family after the husband-father gets laid off from his administrative post at a big corporation. Although technically that is an accurate summary of Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s study of social and personal roles in Japanese society, it doesn’t quite indicate all that happens in this curious, beautifully shot, delicately directed, and capably acted drama.
Written by Kurosawa (known for his horror films, and no relation to Akira), Max [...]
by Andre Soares | March 27, 2009
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Tags: Akiko Ashizawa, Dysfunctional Families, Family Drama, Film Reviews, Haruka Igawa, Inowaki Kai, Japanese Cinema, Kanji Tsuda, Kazuya Kogima, Koji Yakusho, Kyoko Koizumi, Kyoshi Kurosawa, Max Mannix, Socially Conscious Movies, Teruyuki Kagawa, Tokyo Sonata, Yu Koyanagi
THE ASTRONAUT FARMER – Billy Bob Thornton, Virginia Madsen
The Astronaut Farmer (2007)
Direction: Michael Polish
Screenplay: Michael and Mark Polish
Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Virginia Madsen, Bruce Dern, Tim Blake Nelson, Jon Gries, Max Thieriot
Billy Bob Thornton in The Astronaut Farmer
The Astronaut Farmer is considerably more than the story of a guy who builds a rocket. In truth, writer/director Michael Polish and co-screenwriter Mark Polish have concocted a tale about devotion; one in which a man pursues his far-fetched dream at any cost, categorically refusing to let anyone interfere with his plans. As an unconventional movie built on a conventional premise, The Astronaut Farmer works just fine.
The Polish brothers, whose Twin Falls, Idaho and Northfork received warm critical praise, have crafted an inspiring family adventure tale that is subtle [...]
by Franck Tabouring | February 27, 2007
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Tags: Billy Bob Thornton, Bruce Dern, David Mullan, Family Drama, Film Reviews, Mark Polish, Michael Polish, The Astronaut Farmer, Virginia Madsen
