Foreign Short Takes

May 9, 2010 --

Chloe (Canada)
Dir: Atom Egoyan

Many critics will dismiss this Canadian feature as another 'Single White Female' clone, but I was intrigued by its pedigree: a cast of Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson, and newcomer Hollywood 'It-girl', Amanda Seyfried, all directed by the artsy Atom Egoyan. And I am pleased to say there is more to this film than meets the eye, in spite of its occasional dip into cheap, 'Fatal Attraction' melodrama. Based on a French movie (these plots are always more believable when the characters are foreigners), J. Moore hires a prostitute to test her husband's fidelity. Bad move!

What makes this plot credible are the 3 fearless performances by the leads, especially Ms. Seyfried (whose only substantial acting credit has been "Mamma Mia!"). She throws herself into this role (and onto Ms. Moore in a hot lesbian sex scene).

I Don't Know About Persian Cats (Iran)
Dir: B. Ghobadi

From the director of "A Time For Drunken Horses" (notable for being the first film in the Kurdish language), this time Ghobadi takes us on a worldwind journey of the underground music scene in Tehran. (Since rock-n-roll is officially banned in Iran, it is ALL underground). The director has the unique vision to make this NOT a documentary: instead, he takes two real-life musicians and constructs a story around their attempts to put together a band an emigrate to perform a show in London. This device allows us to follow both their attempts to recruit other band members from the numerous 'garage bands' they visit -- in one case, it is a 'barn band' -- and to traverse the many hurdles Iranians face in getting a passport and a visa to emigrate.

The movie succeeds because of the sincerity of the two leads, and because the music is never less than interesting--especially the Iranian street-rapper. Each musical section is accompanied by a rough 'music video,' turning the film into a kind of Iranian version of "Once." Unfortunately, Ghobadi feels the need to tack-on a melodramatic ending that doesn't do justice to the characters or to the energetic, anti-authoritarian mood of the movie. "Save the drama for your mama!" I'd like to tell these filmmakers.

Un prophete (France)

France's entry for 2009's Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, this brutal and violent prison drama teaches us that French prisons can be just as ugly & nasty as American prisons! It follows a young, Arab, petty criminal who is drawn into the Corsican mafia in order to survive in prison, then uses his smarts to turn the tables.

He has to suffer many indignities along the way, and he triumphs by becoming the kind of criminal he never was before, but because he is an Arab, this is a triumph of assimilation, even though he assimilates into the French underworld (maybe the only strata of society he can assimilate?). The movie has a energetic visual (and visceral) flair that kept me engaged throughout, but I have to warn you that the cast (virtually all male) is one of the homeliest I've seen in a French movie.