Subway

The Cinema du look movement was said to favour style over substance, spectacle over narrative, in fact a highly visual approach to film making. This movement existed between the 1980’s and the early 1990’s and a prime example of this type of movie is Luc Bresson’s 1985 Subway.

Highly energetic, with a great opening car chase accompanied, as is most of the film, by a great soundtrack, the chase ends in the Paris Metro where almost all the remainder of the film is set. The story introduces us to a great concoction of characters starting with Fred (Christopher Lambert) who blows open safes. While attending a party he robs the safe of a rich Parisian gangster and relieves him of some undisclosed paper work: hence the opening car chase. Fred develops a relationship with Helena (the sultry Isabelle Adjani) who just so happens to be the wife of the Parisian gangster, she is bored with both her husband and her grand lifestyle preferring to spend time with Fred in the underground. Sharing their Metro existence are The Florist (Richard Bohringer) who earns his living selling wee bunches of flowers to the commuters, The Rollerskater (Jean-Hugues Anglade) who has a great line in bag snatching and dare we forget Besson regular Jean Reno as The Drummer tap tapping his way around the Metro.  Attempting to police these miscreants is the coffee addicted Commissioner Gesberg  (Michel Galabru) and his two aptly named assistants Inspector Batman and Robin. Fred resolves to form a band, one that can perform for the travellers who use the Metro.

Subway was Luc Besson’s second feature film and one of the most popular films in France in 1986; it won Lambert a Cesar Award for best actor. An appealing stylish urban ‘underground’ fantasy from the early part of this fascinating French film director’s career. A quirky, but a decidedly entertaining watch.

Mammuth

Retirement is a 2000 piece Jigsaw puzzel?

Described as a quirky road movie this rather odd French film, Mammuth 2010 stars a hugely rotund Gerard Depardieu, a man you want to avoid on a plane journey, as Serge Pilardosee. Just turned 60 he is retired from his job in a meat packing plant but the poor man can’t draw his state pension because previous employers, and there was a lot of them, have not submitted records of his employment or earnings. Taking his old trusty Mammuth motorbike out of its enforced retirement he sets off on a journey to track down his ex-employers and elicit the required paperwork that will release his pension.

Perhaps its escaping on your trusty motorbike?

This curious movie is directed by the partnership of Gustave de Kervern and Beniot Delephine and features, as well as Depardieu who is superb, the Belgian actress Yolande Moreau, whose best work includes Seraphine (2009) Amelie (2001) and the ingenious Micmacs (2009), as the retirees long suffering wife, and Isabelle Adjani (Possession 1991, La Reine Margot 1994) as the ghost/spirit of Serge’s long dead girlfriend killed in a motorbike accident.  Funny and strangely bizarre with some very weird moments including one which involves our traveller with another pensioner engaging in a session of man to man mutual masturbation!! Can’t wait for the US remake?

or maybe its a time to reassess your past?

La Reine Margot

Patrice Chereau is a man of many talents including directing French theatre and opera, producer, filmmaker (Gabrielle 2005, Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train 1998) and actor, appearing in Michael Haneke’s post-apocalyptic drama Time of the Wolf (2003).

Margot and Husband

The Chereau directed French period drama La Reine Margot (1994) is based on the 1845 historical novel written by Alexandra Dumas, which in turn was based on real life events and characters including the notorious St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre of 1572 in which French Catholics massacred between 5000 and 30000 Huguenot Protestants including a good many of their leaders who were in Paris for the wedding of the Catholic Kings sister Margaret to the Protestant Henry 3 of Navarre. France at that time was torn apart by bitter religious wars and Margot is forced to marry in an effort to reconcile her native France. It was only six days after the wedding that the massacre took place instigated by her mother the ruthless and scheming Catherine de’ Medici. But further problems arise when Margot realises she has no feelings for her new husband and falls for a well to do Protestant soldier La Mole.

Margot and Lover

This exceptional film stars the sensual Isabelle Adjani (Possession 1981) as Margaret of Valois, Daniel Auteuil (Hidden 2005, MR73 2008, 36 Quides des Orfevres 2004) as Henry 3 of Navarre and Virna Lisi won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival for her role as Catherine de Medic. Look carefully and you will spot the 19 year-old Asia Argento (The Last Mistress 2007, Transylvania 2006, Marie Antoinette 2006 and the brilliant The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things 2004) as Charlotte de Sauve mistress of Henry and court spy for Margot’s mother.

This has got to be one of the best period dramas I’ve had the pleasure to see, its gritty, bloodthirsty and full of strong well-acted characters, completely believable, you can almost smell the grime. I believe it was shown on the telly a short while ago, if it comes around again don’t miss it.

Possession

Poster

Polish director Andrzej Zulawski first English language film is very powerful cinema! Possession (1981) is the surreal story of the break up of a marriage which in turn leads to the breakup of the family. It’s not an easy film to describe or understand but the basic plot involves Mark (Sam Neill) who returns home to Berlin to find his wife Anna (Isabelle Adjani) leaving him but he’s not sure why. Suspecting she’s having an affair, he engages a private detective who discovers she has an elderly lover, Heinrich (Heinz Bennent), but she is also leaving him!

Isabelle Adjani won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival for her extraordinary portrayal of a deranged women on the verge of complete insanity who takes a demon lover, which I suspect is a metaphor for evil, an action described by the director as a woman who ‘fucks with an octopus’ This dark, deranged and original film has been described by some critics as a horror film but Zulawsli’s film does not hide behind any genre mask. It subject matter covers politics, love, sex, loneliness and jealousy.

On the verge of complete insanity !

Filmed in the Turkish district of Berlin where it's wall is an important part of the overall atmosphere, as is the use of wide angle lenses and hand held cameras. After an initial release in the UK it was subsequently banned but has now won a deserved cult following. Possession is not necessarily meant to be purely entertainment, love or hate it; it will leave no one untouched. Start with this YouTube clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bDDanNgcgY