grâce à dieu

The deadly sins of the French Catholic Church 

By: IMDB-georgioskarpouzas 

04/04/2019 

I have followed the events described in this movie through the French press and internet. I knew therefore about the facts and they did not appear as a revelation to me. What surprised me was the quality of the movie. It was very good. It was not an attack towards the institution of the Catholic Church per se. Nevertheless it is critical towards the Church and not as balanced and neutral as it wants to appear. I think that many people will evaluate the film based on their gut feeling for the Catholic Church. The faithful will be offended disbelieving the veracity of the offenses described and attributing them to a hostility against the institution while those in the other end of the spectrum will be happy to see how corrupt the Church really is confirming thus their pre-conceived notions.

 

 

VIDEO - GRÂCE À DIEU - 2019 - 8 /10 - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8095860/

été 85

Sexy & Nostalgic Gloom & Doom Boys Love 

By: IMDB-AppleEye2U 

13/09/2020 

Such a pity this movie is released during corona. Été 85 deserves worldwide recognition and rewards like Call Me By Your Name. It is said director Francois Ozon was inspired by this movie to make his own version, set in 1985, when he turned 18 in France. This movie is typically Ozon, he's a master in story telling, stirs up our emotions, appeals to our hormones. The cast is wonderful. The male lead (Alex) is a brooding 16 year old student, who goes down the rabbit hole in his passion for his flamboyant lover (David) an 18 year old unstable character who lost his father a year ago. Almost from the start we know their love is doomed, but the story unfolds like a sweet gay summer romance. We watch the boys sailing, dancing, driving to the sea, watching the sunset, exchanging sloppy kisses, making out at every opportunity. All scenes are filmed in 16 mm tinted in light colors to remind us of the eighties. The boys fling lasts only 6 weeks, but makes a life long impression on Alex with life lessons about seduction, passion, jealousy and death. Later on he asks himself questions about real love, and the ideal of love, two different things, like we all know, but difficult to discern when you're intensely in love for the very first time. All in all I loved this sexy, nostalgic Gloom & Doom boys love that seems fitting for the eighties. Go watch it.

 

VIDEO - ÉTÉ 85 - 2020 - 8/10 - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10457128/

la boda de rosa

POR BEATRIZ MARTÍNEZ / FOTOGRAMAS 

20/08/2020 

Lo mejor: Candela Peña en estado de gracia. 

Lo peor: Que su sencillez la haga pasar por una película menor. 

Vídeo :57 Pantalla Rosa lleva toda la vida pendiente de los demás y se ha olvidado de lo que quiere, de lo que necesita para ser feliz. Así que apretará un botón imaginario para romper con todas las ataduras y decidirá comprometerse con ella misma, para amarse y respetarse todos los días de su vida. Como en una boda, pero sin cónyuge. Icíar Bollaín regresa al cine de pequeños gestos y grandes verdades, al cine de personajes y de mujeres. El impulso juvenil de Hola, ¿estás sola? se ha apaciguado y en La boda de Rosa encontramos la necesidad de recuperar un poco de libertad cuando se ha perdido en medio de las presiones y las responsabilidades de la vida diaria. En el momento en el que Rosa decida cambiar de vida, se provocará a su alrededor todo un tsunami que destapará las miserias íntimas de sus allegados, entre ellos sus hermanos (encarnados por unos estupendos Nathalie Poza y Sergi López), que por fin reconocerán errores que nunca se habían permitido admitir. Se habían esforzado en construir una coraza para aparentar que todo iba bien, mientras la desorientación íntima y el fracaso personal terminaron imponiéndose dentro de un mundo que avanza cada vez más rápido y que no permite tiempo para la reflexión. La incomunicación es otra de las bases estructurales sobre las que se asienta una narración en la que todas las voces implicadas hablan y hablan, pero jamás se escuchan, como si existiera una barrera invisible en la que la comprensión parece una cuestión extraterrestre. De todo eso habla La boda de Rosa, una preciosa película de reconciliación y también de compromiso. Casi todo el cine de Bollaín se mueve en esos términos a través de personajes que toman conciencia de una realidad que los oprime y condena. Rebelarse ante esas imposiciones es un camino difícil y lleno de retos, y en esta ocasión la directora ha optado por la sencillez y la cercanía a la hora de mostrar el proceso de cambio de una mujer que se embarca en la complicada tarea de tomar las riendas de su vida, sin pesimismo ni autocompasión, adoptando un espíritu jubiloso que en determinados momentos se acerca a la esencia berlanguiana en la manera de abordar el humor y la fanfarria.

 

 

VIDEO - LA BODA DE ROSA - 2020 - 8/10 - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10077544/

30 monedas, season 1

Satánico y de Carabanchel 

By IMDB-itsnotsafe 

17/01/2021 

If you have been a longs time fan of Alex de La Iglesia like myself, I think you will be very pleased with this. Had a great time and look forward to seeing more. The acting is fantastic, from Carmen Machi to Eduard Fernández (Top!), binged the show in almost one seating. Since I've seen so many low ratings due to the dub/subtitles issue, please let me say that I understand that for non spanish speakers this can be tricky; you might not be able to follow everything at first and that can be frustrating. Nevertheless, I believe that if you like horror, dark humor and want to be hooked to the screen, give it a try!

 

 

VIDEO - 30 MONEDAS, Season 1 - 2020 - 8/10 - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9764386/

les misérables, season 1

Masterful - Translating the story for a British Audience 

By: IMDB-laurabguest-93947 

05/02/2019 

First of all, having read some of the previous reviews, I would like to give my own opinion on what appear to be ill-thought-out observations. The casting of Javert - he's black. We get it. But can we look past his skin tone for a moment and marvel at how brilliant Oyelowo is at portraying Hugo's obsessed Javert? This actor has a way of delivering his lines in a way that makes you hang on to his every word, like you're physically being drawn in - he's absolutely fantastic, a character that you love to hate and it saddens me that people can't see past his race. The point is that it's an adaptation for a modern, British audience, it doesn't have to truly mirror nineteenth century France for us to understand that it is set in ye olden times! On a related note, the accents. They're British and at times, very cockney and I think that there is a simple reason for this. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between an upper-class Frenchman and a working-class one, because I am not French. Therefore, the director has chosen to use accents that we as a British audience are very familiar with and will associate with certain stereotypes, ie. The Thenardier's, who are from a lower class, have a cockney accent and even say their few French phrases in that accent because the majority of the British Public associate the cockney accent with the working class community. I can only imagine the hullabaloo that reviewers would have kicked up if this stellar cast had attempted butchered French accents - better that they stick to what they're good at. And for the few who have commented that there is too much sorrow and woe and suffering... What did you expect when you tuned into a show called Les Miserables! Maybe next time, you should consider watching Les Happy People. Also, I don't know what other people were watching, but the acting in this series far outclassed any soap I've ever seen. I would like to take this moment to appreciate the always wonderful Dominic West - his portrayal of the wounded hero Jean Valjean is truly wonderful. I'm also surprised at the lack of love shown for Lily Collins as Fantine. I have been a fan of hers for quite a while but even I doubted how well she would be able to pull off the tragic Fantine, but it was amazing. I've never been more impressed with her as an actress and I think she deserves way more credit than she's recieved. Over all, I don't think the BBC were trying to make any sort of statement, or be PC or anything of the sort. I think that the best actors were chosen to portray the roles perfectly and that the script was adapted to suit the target audience, we the British public. And I would highly recommend this series to anyone with a soul who will appreciate the beauty in it.

 

VIDEO - LES MISÉRABLES, Season 1 - 2019 - 10/10 - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5900600/