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Être et avoir (2002)
Simply wonderfull
Simply wonderfull is the only way for me to describe this film. No film is perfect, but this film comes awfully close! A beautifully shot film about school kids and their teacher in a French school in the Auvergne. I had the privilege to watch the film during the International Film Festival Rotterdam and hear the directors comments afterwards.
All children (appr. 20) ranging from age 4 to 12 (my guess) in one room with a teacher who really found his vocation in life. The school was chosen after visiting numerous schools in France. One of the main reasons, according to the director, for choosing this particular school was the fact that is had all children in 1 room and that room had ample space, which meant that no addional lighting was needed.
In the course of the film you get the feeling that the camera (and therefore us, the viewers) really gets invisible, allthough that was absolutely not the case. "The children behaved completely different when the camera was there". I didn't notice that. You really feel for them afterwards. This includes the teacher who is finishing his last year and will retire. One of the most touching moments for me was the last shot at the end of the school year when all the children leave for the last time and the teacher has a few emotional moments alone, realizing that this is the end, both for the children and himself. The moment is even more poignant when you realize that it is not acted, it is real...
Do not expect a high pace film with lots of drama and action. In the beginning I had a little difficulty with the pace of the film, which seems slow. Especially the "in-between shots" seem long, but after a while I got totally gripped in it and these shots really felt right. They got me down from my real-life fast pace (such as it is) and settled me down.
I could go on and on about what is so wonderfull about this film, but my advise: If you see one film this year, see this one !!
Cidade de Deus (2002)
Run, run, don't walk!!
Run to the cinema to see this one says Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian. I couldn't agree with him more!
High pace chilling drama about Brazilian gangs. It gets even more chilling when you are told during the end credits that it is all real! During the end credits you get to watch a clip from Brazilian TV that is translated to the movie 1-on-1.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Excellent, but....
I saw LOTR: TTT just last week and found it an excellent movie. Better than the first as the story gets going from the first frame and doesn't bother (much) with reintroducing the story. It is just assumed that you saw the previous film and are fully familiar with it all. Maybe a bit arrogant, but then again they are absolutely right! If you haven't seen the first movie (or did and didn't like it, then shame on you!), don't bother with the 2nd one.
The good thing about all this is that the movie gets right to the point and doesn't waste any second. It just plunges the audience right back in the experience they had in the first movie and even tops it. I am (unfortunately) used to people chatting etc during the movie, because the movie is taking to long, is boring, etc. Well, that did NOT happen this time. The theatre was completely packed and right up to the last minute everybody was totally caught up in it. And that is saying something for a movie that is running up to 3 hours.
Anyway, back to what it is all about: the movie. The story of the original book is followed rather closely. Yes, as several people have already commented, there are several differences as compared to the book, but in all the thread of the book is left intact. The story doesn't lose any pace and keeps you glued to the screen right up to the end. Key scenes are well thought of (Gollum's inner struggle as a key part in the book (in my opinion) is very well translated to the screen) and explain as well as keep the audience interested'.
But.... One of the best performances of the movie, at least for me, was given by Gollum. His inner struggle between doing "the right thing" and following his desire for the ring are very well portrayed (as already mentioned above). And yet..... Frodo is going to a similar struggle and doesn't pull it off as convincingly as does Gollum. So, is a CGI-character beating a human in acting ? Gollum, for me, gives a much more convincing picture of the struggle within, than does Frodo, who just rolls his eyes and looks completely out of is. Is computer science already so far that it can beat a human performance or is it just happenstance ?