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Reviews
Le retour de Martin Guerre (1982)
not the remake
OK. This is not a remake of "carrefour", as many may think. This is the actual story, on which carrefour was based, from 16th century France, it just happens to have been transferred to film after the other adaptation. Go read the book if you're at all interested, it's by Janet Lewis and is called "The Wife of Martin Guerre". The story is based on court documents among other things, and the character names in this film are those of the actual people. Don't get confused- carrefour may have been made before this film, but this is the closer adaptation and, thus, should not be labeled a remake.
Carrefour (1938)
this is the remake
although this film was made before "the return of martin guerre", the latter is the closer adaptation to the incident that took place in 16th century France. Don't make the mistake of thinking that this is the truer of the two stories, because that is not the case. The story was turned into a very good short story by Janet Lewis, titled "the wife of Martin Guerre", which looks at the incident through the eyes of, you guessed it, Mrs Martin Guerre (Bertrande de Rols). There has been a more modern remake, which stars Richard Gere. Sommerby or something of the sort i think.
Gladiator (2000)
great
Russell Crowe deserved the Oscar for this film. Yes, I know he got it ahead of some other worthy winners, but is portrayal is faultless. Despite its historical inaccuracies, the film has the look and feel of Ancient Rome- the greatness is conveyed through beautiful music and scenery (the gladiatorial arenas are amazingly well constructed and the fights themselves brilliantly choreographed)
Crowe is one of my favourite actors of all time- his versatility often overlooked, his presence on screen (and stage) incredibly powerful. This film also served as a vehicle for Joaquin Pheonix- he is also a brilliant actor (saw him in Quills, he's very good in that).
I really like this movie, and it deserved it accolades- a true epic. That opening scene is the most realistic depiction of an ancient battle on screen to date.
Lost in Translation (2003)
Great.
Although this is not the greatest 'movie' I have ever seen, and by no means should it win the 'Best Picture' award, I found it to be quite the piece of art.
Lost in Translation had no beginning, middle or end; in my mind, there was no conflict, nor was there a climax. This move merely ambulated along, not making any specific impact story-wise, but being more of a film for analysis than 'enjoyment'.
It seems to me that this was a real-life style story- the dialogue was choppy and at times seemingly uncomfortable... but excuse me if I am wrong, isn't that what most conversation in life is like? There is little obviously contrived, Hollywood-ized content and, to be honest, I found the acting to be delightful; Bill Murray was wonderfully understated (it reminded me at times of Billy Bob Thornton's performance in The Man Who Wasn't There) and Scarlett Johanssen was equally as formidable in her part.
All in all, i never sat in the theatre feeling bored, but more content- i feel that I experienced something different and, to be honest, quite wonderful. You don't need profundity to have an impact, nor do you need structure or message to make a good film.