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Reviews
Sex and Breakfast (2005)
Not a bad film
I saw a reasonably healthy rating for this film (which has since slipped) on this site, so I thought I would hire it. I didn't expect a comedy, and I didn't expect much sex, being a M-15 in Australia. It was okay, although I could never imagine a psychologist recommending group sex as therapy for couples. That was until I used Google, and indeed I found that there is group sex therapy, albeit on the fringes.
I have reached my own sexual and relationship ephinanies, so I didn't need the sex and relationship message, although I imagine that I could have gained something from this if I was in my early twenties. But there was another message for me, not very subtle, and that was that nice guys finish last! Ellis wanted the group sex, his girlfriend wasn't really into it, but Ellis was a quite forceful with his relationship issues all the way through the film. He had his group sex experience, and he still had his girlfriend, and nice-guy James was dumped.
There was more to this movie than meets the eyes, and the characters were interesting contrasts to one another. All had different reasons for participating, and all had different outcomes. I've seen better movies, of course, but I've seen many worse ones than this too.
Dresden (2006)
Entertaining and thought-provoking
This TV mini-series was recently shown on SBS television in Australia, and after reading David Irving's work on Dresden I decided to watch it. I was pleasantly surprised, as it was both entertaining and able to capture many of the issues around this controversial air-raid. The only major issue I felt was overlooked was that Dresden was never expected to be a target, and therefore was woefully unprepared. There were few air-raid shelters and little anti-aircraft protection of the city. The lack of anti-aircraft fire enabled the RAF to bomb very accurately, and was a major factor in the destruction that followed.
Despite this, the story itself was reasonably well told. It is an common technique to use intimate relationships to help us focus on human tragedy. In this instance, the three-way relationship added an extra degree of tension to the story.
A Costa dos Murmúrios (2004)
A surprisingly good film
This film is more about the futility of colonialism than it is about the disintegrating relationship between Evita and Luis. The relationship is a way for the viewer to personalise the struggle for independence: the newly-married couple are torn apart because they see the war from opposite sides.
And this is why the film works so well, because the viewer focuses on the micro, love gone cold, and clearly understands that this is because of the bigger issues that surround the young couple.
Margarida Cardoso surprises directing her first feature-length movie. Although two hours, not one shot is wasted nor one scene drags, and the screenplay never betrays that 'The Murmuring Coast' is condensed from a novel. The ending is delightful: confusing and yet clear.
It is a movie that anyone who enjoys fine characterisation will gain a lot out of.