FranksFilms

This week’s movie:
THE RED VIOLIN

A sweeping epic about the “single most perfect acoustical machine” ever constructed. Built by a master violin-maker in 17th century Italy. The man’s wife dies in childbirth, and it’s believed that the woman’s soul entered the instrument. The movie follows the violin as it passes from one owner to another, from one continent to another. In so doing, you see the history of the violin played out in a number of shorter stories. Along the way, there are flash forwards to modern day Montreal, where the violin is up for auction.

I came upon this movie completely by accident, several years ago. I wasn’t expecting much and was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it. As a bonus, if you enjoy music, this film features some spectacular solos.

Technically, I suppose you could call this a foreign language movie. It is spoken in several different languages, including English, depending on where the story takes you. Suck it up and read the subtitles already.

Enjoy.

Foreign movie of the week:
BLUE

I’ve been looking foward to recommending this movie. I’ve put it off this long because I wanted to wait until I could think of something eloquent to write about it that would do it justice, but I can’t. So, I’m putting it out there so that you can watch it and then you can post your own comments and reflections about it, here on this site.

Krzysztof Kieslowski made three films in the early 90’s (Blue, White, and Red) dealing with contemporary French society. Quite simply, these films are among the best ever made. It’s not just me saying this, either. Every film school worth its salt offers a course on the “Three Colors Trilogy”. It has received wide acclaim throughout the world, winning countless awards, and yet, most Americans have never heard of them.

Blue is the first in the series. The plot outline is simple. A woman, who has just lost her husband and child in a car accident, has to deal with her grief. Sounds simple (sad – and simple). No stuff blowing up. No political intrigue. No sex (well, maybe a little bit). But if you watch this film, then say, “What was that about? Nothing happens.”, then you’ve missed it. Go back and look closer. There’s a lot going on below the surface if you care to look.

That’s all I’m going to say. I liked the film a lot. If you really need to know more, you can read Roger Ebert’s review (link below). You can also check out other reviews and discussions at Rotten Tomatoes. BLUE registered a very rare 100% on the TOMATOMETER (that means good).

Jouissez.
(that means “Enjoy”)

link to film critic Roger Ebert’s review of BLUE

link to the BLUE page at www.rottentomatoes.com

From the Archives: 2/10/2005
RAY

I don’t usually recommend main-stream Hollywood movies here, but this is an exception. It’s as good as everybody says, even if you don’t (for some unexplainable reason) like Ray Charles.