Random Musings - October 2011

Random Notes of the Month

This blog has reached 400 posts.

Happy Halloween folks, another month has gone by and this one marked several milestones at bonjourtristesse.net.

Early on in the month I got my 300th follower, thank you to Castor Troy of Anomalous Material!  Then a couple weeks later I gained my 400th follower on Twitter, and also published my 400th post.

That's not all however.  Midway through October I crossed the 100,000 pageview mark!  I think that's pretty amazing considering the obscure content I generally cover here.  Thank you to all my readers, you guys are great!

I also expected the monthly traffic to take a huge dip after changing the domain name last month, but that wasn't the case.  It was slower for about 10 days and then quickly started picking up again to end up being my busiest month ever, just shy of 18,000 views.

Rubber (2010)

Rubber (2010)

Genre: Experimental
Director: Quentin Dupieux
Starring: Stephen Spinella, Jack Plotnick, Wings Hauser, Roxane Mesquida
Language: English
Duration:  79 min.
Rating: 6.7  

Summary:

The story of Robert, an inanimate tire that has been abandoned in the desert, and suddenly and inexplicably comes to life. As Robert roams the bleak landscape, he discovers that he possesses terrifying telepathic powers that give him the ability to destroy anything he wishes without having to move. At first content to prey on small desert creatures and various discarded objects, his attention soon turns to humans, especially a beautiful and mysterious woman who crosses his path.

Territories (2010)

Territories (2010)

Genre: Horror
Director: Olivier Abbou
Starring: Roc LaFortune, Sean Devine, Nicole Leroux, Alex Meiner, Tim Rozon
Language: English
Duration: 95 min.
Rating: 6.5  

Summary:

Five friends returning from a wedding in Canada are driving home to the United States.  Not far from the border, two customs officers stop them to check their identity. Suspicious, they take their time especially with Jalil, a man of Arab origin. The situation worsens when a customs officer finds a small bag of marijuana in the luggage.

Prey (2010)

Prey • Proie (2010)

Genre: Horror
Director: Antoine Blossier
Starring: Grégoire Colin, François Levantal, Fred Ulysse, Joseph Malerba, Bérénice Bejo
Language: French
Duration:  85 min.
Rating: 5.4  

Summary:

A family reunion turns deadly when mutant animals launch a violent attack.

A Separation (2011)

A Separation • Jodaeiye Nader az Simin (2011)

Genre: Drama
Director: Asghar Farhadi
Starring: Peyman Moaadi, Leila Hatami, Sareh Bayat, Shahab Hosseini, Sarina Farhadi
Language: Farsi
Duration: 120 min.
Rating: 8.7  

Summary:

Simin wants to leave Iran with her husband Nader and daughter Termeh. Simin sues for divorce when Nader refuses to leave behind his Alzheimer's suffering father.  Her request having failed, Simin goes back to her parents, but Termeh decides to stay with Nader...

The Pack (2010)

The Pack • La meute (2010)

Genre: Horror
Director: Franck Richard
Starring: Émilie Dequenne, Benjamin Biolay, Yolande Moreau, Philippe Nahon
Language: French
Duration: 84 min.
Rating: 6.8  

Summary:

Driving in the middle of nowhere, Charlotte picks up Max, a hitchhiker.  They stop in a truck-stop restaurant, and when Max doesn't come back from the restroom, curiosity soon gets the better of her...

Stranded (2010)

Stranded • Djinns (2010)

Genre: Action Horror
Director: Hugues Martin & Sandra Martin
Starring:Saïd Taghmaoui, Cyril Raffaelli, Aurélien Wiik, Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet
Language: French, Arabic
Duration: 103 min.
Rating: 6.0  

Summary:

A platoon of French paratroopers are sent in search of a missing plane in the Algerian desert.  The aircraft wreckage is quickly located, but there are no survivors, just a steel case labelled "Top Secret".  Attacked by enemy soldiers, the troops seek refuge in a strange abandoned citadel where they are confronted by the Djinns, the evil spirits of the desert...

Caged (2010)

Caged • Captifs (2010)

Genre: Horror
Director: Yann Gozlan
Starring: Zoé Félix, Eric Savin, Arié Elmaleh
Language: French
Duration: 83 min.
Rating: 6.9  

Summary:

A group of medical aid workers in former Yugoslavia begin to leave for Kosovo when they are kidnapped by a masked gang of organ traffickers.

High Lane (2009)

High Lane • Vertige (2009)

Genre: Horror
Director: Abel Ferry
Starring: Fanny Valette, Johan Libéreau, Raphaël Lenglet, Nicolas Giraud, Maud Wyler
Language: French
Duration: 90 min.
Rating: 5.3  

Summary:

A group of twenty-something friends on vacation in Croatia decide to venture onto a trail high up in the mountains that has been closed for repairs.  The climb proves more perilous than planned, especially as they soon realize that they are not alone. The adventure turns into a nightmare.

Wild Side (2004)

Wild Side (2004)

Genre: Drama
Director: Sébastien Lifshitz
Starring: Stéphanie Michelini, Yasmine Belmadi, Edouard Nikitine
Language: French, English, Russian
Duration: 93 min.
Rating: 7.4  

Summary:

A transsexual who survives prostituting herself in Paris, returns with her two male lovers in tow, to her family home in the countryside to look after her dying mother.

My Mother (2004)

My Mother • Ma mère (2004)

Genre: Drama
Director: Christophe Honoré
Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Louis Garrel
Language: French, English, German, Spanish
Duration: 110 min.
Rating: 6.1  

Summary:

Following the death of his father, a young man is introduced to a world of hedonism and depravity by his attractive and amoral mother.

Anatomy of Hell (2004)

Anatomy of Hell • Anatomie de l'enfer (2004)

Genre: Drama
Director: Catherine Breillat
Starring: Amira Casar, Rocco Siffredi
Language: French
Duration: 73 min.
Rating: 5.0  

Summary:

A woman hires a gay man to spend four nights at her house to watch her when she's "unwatchable".

Sleeping Beauty (2011)

Sleeping Beauty (2011)

Genre: Drama
Director: Julia Leigh
Starring: Emily Browning, Rachael Blake
Language: English
Duration: 102 min.
Rating: 7.6  

Summary:

A haunting portrait of Lucy, a young university student drawn into a mysterious hidden world of unspoken desires.

Secret Things (2002)

Secret Things • Choses secrètes (2002)

Genre: Drama
Director: Jean-Claude Brisseau
Starring: Coralie Revel, Sabrina Seyvecou, Roger Miremont, Fabrice Deville
Language: French
Duration: 115 min.
Rating: 6.7  

Summary:

A modern erotic fable about two young women, Nathalie, a stripper at a bar, and Sandrine, a bartender, who conspire to climb the social ladder of Paris using their feminine wiles, after they start living together.

The Kid with a Bike (2011) VIFF Closing Film

The Kid with a Bike • Le gamin au vélo (2011)

Genre: Drama
Director: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Starring: Thomas Doret, Cécile De France, Jérémie Renier
Duration: 84 min.
Language: French
Rating: 8.5  

Summary:

Cyril, almost 12, has only one plan: to find the father who left him temporarily in a children's home. By chance he meets Samantha, who runs a hairdressing salon and agrees to let him stay with her on the weekends. Cyril doesn't recognize the love Samantha feels for him, a love he desperately needs to calm his rage.

The Turin Horse (2011)

The Turin Horse •A Torinói ló (2011)

Genre: Drama
Director: Béla Tarr
Starring: János Derzsi, Erika Bók
Language: Hungarian
Duration: 146 min.
Rating: 8.5  

Summary:

"In Turin on 3rd January, 1889, Friedrich Nietzsche steps out of the doorway of number six, Via Carlo Albert. Not far from him, the driver of a hansom cab is having trouble with a stubborn horse. Despite all his urging, the horse refuses to move, whereupon the driver loses his patience and takes his whip to it. Nietzsche comes up to the throng and puts an end to the brutal scene, throwing his arms around the horse’s neck, sobbing. His landlord takes him home, he lies motionless and silent for two days on a divan until he mutters the obligatory last words, and lives for another ten years, silent and demented, cared for by his mother and sisters. We do not know what happened to the horse.”

Bronson (2008)

Bronson (2008)

Genre: Biography, Drama
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Starring: Tom Hardy
Language: English
Duration: 92 min.
Rating: 8.1  

Summary:

In 1974, a hot-headed 19 year old named Michael Peterson decided he wanted to make a name for himself and so, with a homemade sawn-off shotgun and a head full of dreams he attempted to rob a post office.  Swiftly apprehended and originally sentenced to 7 years in jail, Peterson has subsequently been behind bars for 34 years, 30 of which have been spent in solitary confinement.

Demonlover (2002)

Demonlover (2002)

Genre: Drama • Thriller
Director: Olivier Assayas
Starring: Connie Nielsen, Charles Berling, Chloë Sevigny, Gina Gershon
Language: English, French, Japanese
Duration: 129 min.
Rating: 7.3  

Summary:

After his former assistant is kidnapped, French businessman Henri-Pierre Volf assigns his new assistant Diane to make a deal with TokyoAnimé , a company at the forefront of three-dimensional adult animation.  However, Diane is actually a spy for a rival company.  The plot thickens when it comes to light that one of the concerned parties controls an Internet site which broadcasts actual torture.

The Pornographer (2001)

The Pornographer • Le pornographe (2001)

Genre: Drama
Director: Bertrand Bonello
Starring: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Jérémie Renier, Dominique Blanc
Language: French
Duration: 108 min.
Rating: 5.8  

Summary:

Jacques made a string of successful pornographic films in the 1970's but had put that career aside for 20 years.  Now older and paunchier but also broke, he is forced to return to directing again.  However Jacques's artistry clashes with his financially-troubled producer's sensibilities.

Intimacy (2001)

Intimacy (2001)

Genre: Drama
Director: Patrice Chéreau
Starring: Mark Rylance, Kerry Fox
Language: English
Duration: 119 min.
Rating: 7.5  

Summary:

Jay is a cold, emotionally distant man who walked out of his family years ago.   An anonymous woman comes to his house once a week and they have sex, talking as little as possible and parting ways once they're done.  One day he follows her after their weekly encounter and finds out about her life, an act that disrupts their relationship.

Fat Girl (2001)

Fat Girl •À ma soeur! (2001)

Genre: Drama
Director: Catherine Breillat
Starring: Anaïs Reboux, Roxane Mesquida, Libero De Rienzo, Arsinée Khanjian
Language: French
Duration: 83 min.
Rating: 7.6  

Summary:

Twelve-year-old Anaïs is fat. Her older sister Elena is a teenage beauty. While on vacation with their parents, Anaïs tags along with Elena as she explores the dreary seaside town. Elena meets Fernando, an Italian law student, who seduces her with promises of love, and the ever-watchful Anaïs bears witness to the corruption of her sister’s innocence.

Humanity (1999)

Humanity • L'humanité (1999)

Genre: Drama
Director: Bruno Dumont
Starring: Emmanuel Schotté, Séverine Caneele, Philippe Tullier
Language: French
Duration: 148 min.
Rating: 7.4  

Summary:

When an 11-year-old girl is brutally raped and murdered in a quiet French village, a police detective who has forgotten how to feel emotions, because of the death of his own family in a tragic accident, investigates the crime, which turns out to ask more questions than it answers.

Romance (1999)

Romance (1999)

Genre: Drama
Director: Catherine Breillat
Starring:  Caroline Ducey, Rocco Siffredi, François Berléand, Sagamore Stévenin
Language: French
Duration: 99 min.
Rating: 6.0  

Summary:

Marie is unfulfilled by her relationship with Paul, her narcissistic male model boyfriend who refuses to show her any kind of physical affection, much less make love to her. Frustrated, she decides to take matters into her own hands, and search for intimacy beyond the bounds of traditional sexual limitations, a journey that proves to be both fulfilling and empowering.

Pola X (1999)

Pola X (1999)

Genre: Drama
Director: Leos Carax
Starring: Guillaume Depardieu, Yekaterina Golubeva, Catherine Deneuve, Delphine Chuillot, Laurent Lucas
Language: French
Duration:  134 min.
Rating: 6.5  

Summary:

A successful young novelist is confronted by a woman who claims to be his lost sister and the two begin a romantic relationship as he descends into madness

Drive (2011)

Drive (2011)

Genre: Crime Drama
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks
Language: English
Duration: 100 min.
Rating: 8.7  

Summary:

A Hollywood stunt performer who moonlights as a wheelman discovers that a contract has been put on him after a heist gone wrong.

Criminal Lovers (1999)

Criminal Lovers • Les Amants criminels (1999)

Genre: Drama • Thriller
Director: François Ozon
Starring: Natacha Régnier, Jérémie Renier, Miki Manojlovic
Language: French
Duration: 96 min.
Rating: 7.1  

Summary:

Alice is a bored, spoiled high schooler with a gorgeous body and a sociopathic mind.  She persuades one of her suitors, the naive and trusting Luc, to murder another suitor, the handsome, rakish Said.

Sitcom (1998)

Sitcom (1998)

Genre: Drama • Comedy
Director: François Ozon
Starring:  Évelyne Dandry, François Marthouret, Marina de Van, Adrien de Van, Lucia Sanchez
Language: French
Duration: 85 min.
Rating: 6.7  

Summary:

The lives of a seemingly normal bourgeois family are turned upside down after the arrival of an innocent looking pet rat.  Their twisted dysfunctional adventures begin with the younger brother's discovery of his homosexuality, the elder sister's suicide attempt and sado-masochist tendencies, and the intrusion of a very free-spirited maid and her husband.

Assassin(s) (1997)

Assassin(s) (1997)

Genre: Drama
Director: Mathieu Kassovitz
Starring: Michel Serrault, Mathieu Kassovitz, Mehdi Benoufa
Language: French
Duration: 128 min.
Rating: 7.2  

Summary:

For over 40 years, Mr. Wagner has been a successful assassin, but now he is 70; his hands tremble and his eyesight and reflexes are rapidly failing. Mr. Wagner is ready to retire, but first he must find a successor.

La Haine (1995)

La Haine (1995)

Genre: Drama
Director: Mathieu Kassovitz
Starring:  Vincent Cassel, Hubert Koundé, Saïd Taghmaoui
Language: French
Duration: 98 min.
Rating: 9.1  

Summary:

Twenty-four hours in the lives of young, disenfranchised Saïd, Vinz, and Hubert, who live in a suburban housing project on the outskirts of Paris.