Stranger Than Fiction - Reaction

A good film, intelligent and touching, with a fun premise: an accountant with a very regular, regimented routine begins hearing a voice. The voice turns out to be the narrator in a book being written; the accountant is a character in the book. The acting is natural and low key; it goes well with the unhurried pacing of the movie. Has elements of a romantic comedy. Themes explored include the need to shake people out of their routines and the triumph of/importance of real life over fiction. I suppose it could have explored the idea of author as god, but it doesn't, leaving workings of and rules relating to the narration plot device unelucidated. I don't mind and didn't actually realize this until later.

Mi Mejor Enemigo / My Best Enemy - Reaction

[Chile & Argentina]

A quirky film about the strange connections that appear between soldiers on opposite sides of the trenches in a war. A surprisingly funny movie given its setting. We watch as soldiers get lost in the featureless grasslands (pampas) near the border, make their own border, play soccer, host a bbq, and trade porn for penicillin. The serious ending is especially out of place given the flavor of the film. Narrated. Does a good job portraying the humanity of everyone involved. Fairly well done.

... And if Tomorrow - Reaction

[Italy]

A good comedy about a romantic that eventually gets driven to rob a bank. The movie is about the infatuation that propels him so and his friendship with a lawyer. Told mostly through flashbacks; this unusual structure works for the story. Good acting. A few scenes have noticeably good camera work. The tale is about money as a necessity and as a source of problems, and about some people's inability to express what needs to be expressed. The whole narrative seems pretty absurd, a fact made all the more surprising since it's based on a true story. At times the movie attempts to also be a romance and a drama, but it only partially succeeds in these aspects and winds up predominately a comedy.

The two romantic leads were present at the end of the movie to answer questions. It seems some of the true story details were omitted from the movie, including that the woman was a cocaine addict and was unfaithful! These would have dramatically changed the tale. Also, the scene near the end involving the difficulty using the bull horn was unintentionally improvised. That trouble greatly added to the scene.

A Wire Around the World - Reaction

[Italy]

A somewhat cute short about a father and grandfather exchanging letters with their descendant away at war, and about the mailman who delivers the letters. The soundtrack included wonderful folksy string (violin?) music. One must watch it for the characters, not just the joke -- the joke, involving shoes hanging on a telephone line, wasn't worth the time it took to set up.

Bombay Calling - Reaction

[made by Canada about India]

An okay documentary about a call center in India and the people who work there. Does a good job portraying the people and their personalities. Includes a few humorous scenes of them being trained to talk to Americans and Brits. However, I felt much was missing from the movie. We only see how the workers are viewed by each other and their families, not other Indians. We don't see other call centers, though we are lead to believe this one is typical. We learn nothing about outsourcing and its effects. We learn little about the economics of the call center industry in India and nothing about it world-wide. The film says nothing about globalization.

Romeo and Juliet Get Married - Reaction

[Brazil]

A very good, entertaining, romantic comedy-drama about two lovers in Brazil who are fans of rival soccer teams. Heart-wrenching at times. Loosely (very loosely) inspired by Shakespeare's story. Intelligently deals with deeper themes of bigotry(/discrimination/racism), as exemplified through its evocative portrayal of the fanaticism of soccer fans. Much like "Meet The Parents," though with the aforementioned deeper theme and with slightly less slapstick humor.

Two - Reaction

A poignant silent film (with music and sound effects but no speaking) about a rich kid with many toys and a poor (and darker-skinned) child that lives nearby in poverty with few toys. Excellent. A tale about envy, schadenfreude, one-up-man-ship, and simplicity.