Genre: Animation, Comedy, Drama, Family
Actor: Beatrice Bonifassi, Betty Bonifassi, Charles Linton, Jean-Claude Donda, Lina Boudreau, Mari-Lou Gauthier, Michel Robin, Michèle Caucheteux, Suzy Falk
Director: Sylvain Chomet
Chasing the feel of watching Cabaret ? Here are the movies we recommend you watch right after.
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Drama, Family
Actor: Beatrice Bonifassi, Betty Bonifassi, Charles Linton, Jean-Claude Donda, Lina Boudreau, Mari-Lou Gauthier, Michel Robin, Michèle Caucheteux, Suzy Falk
Director: Sylvain Chomet
From a 1926 play to the iconic 1975 stage musical to Rob Marshall's 2002 extravaganza, Chicag0 has had a strong hold on popular culture. In a way, it's existed almost as long as cinema itself and its transformation across mediums and modes of expression has been well documented. The film carries all the marks of its theatrical predecessors, the expansive sets, the luscious costumes, the sleek characters whose banter and songs alike testify to their great chemistry — there's a lot to admire in such a self-referential spectacle. A black-comedy-fuelled musical about corruption and deceit set during the Jazz Age, Chicago fulfils all its promises. With a stellar ensemble cast featuring Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, and John C. Reily, in tandem with dazzling camerawork and most exquisite chiaroscuro lighting, this one brings the stage to the movies. I mean it in the best possible way!
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Actor: Bill Corsair, Blake McGrath, Brendan Wall, Brittany Gray, Bruce Beaton, Capathia Jenkins, Catherine Chiarelli, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chita Rivera, Christine Baranski, Cliff Saunders, Colm Feore, Conrad Dunn, Cynthia Onrubia, Danielle Rueda-Watts, Darren Lee, Deidre Goodwin, Deirdre Goodwin, Denise Faye, Dominic West, Ekaterina Chtchelkanova, Eve Crawford, Faye Rauw, Gregory Mitchell, Jayne Eastwood, Jeff Clarke, Jeff Pustil, John C. Reilly, Jonathan Whittaker, Joseph Scoren, Karen Holness, Karine Plantadit, Kathryn Zenna, Ken Ard, Laura Dean, Lucy Liu, Marty Moreau, Michelle Johnston, Monique Ganderton, Mya, Nicki Richards, Paul Becker, Queen Latifah, Rebecca Leonard, Renée Zellweger, Rhonda Roberts, Richard Gere, Rick Negron, Rob Smith, Robbie Rox, Robert Montano, Roman Podhora, Roxane Barlow, Sara Ramirez, Sean McCann, Sean Palmer, Sebastian La Cause, Sergio Trujillo, Sheri Godfrey, Steve Behal, Susan Misner, Tara Nicole Hughes, Taye Diggs, Timothy Shew, Troy P. Liddell, Vicky Lambert
Director: Rob Marshall
Taking place almost entirely in a single classroom, the two-hour-plus runtime of this French drama breezes past thanks to its sheer unrelenting energy. You’d be forgiven for assuming The Class is a documentary, so fly-on-the-wall is the filming and so naturalistic the dialogue, much of which was improvised from loose guidelines.
Unlike so many cinematic teachers, Monsieur Marin (played by co-screenwriter François Bégaudeau) doesn’t pull off any educational miracles with his class of backchatting 15-year-olds at an inner-city Paris school. Although the French literature teacher does make some inroads with disaffected kids like Souleymane (Franck Keïta), what really boosts The Class’ grade is its refusal to valorize its central figure. There are no rousing Dead Poets Society-style scenes here — in fact, the film builds from free-flowing lively debates to a tense climax that stems directly from a grave faux pas committed by none other than the teacher himself. Crucially, though, The Class is evenhanded in its treatment of its characters, recognizing both how complex each of these kids is underneath the blunt assessments contained on their report cards and how difficult and thankless the role of a teacher is.
Genre: Drama
Actor: Damien Gomes, Esmeralda Ouertani, Farida Ouchani, François Bégaudeau, Louise Grinberg, Rabah Nait Oufella, Valérie Benguigui
Director: Laurent Cantet
Genre: Drama, Romance
Actor: Anh Hoa Nguyen, Hoa Hoi Vuong, Keo Souvannavong, Man San Lu, Ngoc Trung Tran, Thi Loc Truong, Tran Nu Yên-Khê, Vantha Talisman
Director: Anh Hung Tran, Tran Anh Hung
Peter Jackson made the transition from splattery gross-out movies like Braindead to more respectable fare with Heavenly Creatures, the true story of an intense relationship between two teenage girls that culminates in the murder of one of their mothers.
As the girls’ friendship becomes unhealthier, they invent a secret world for themselves, amusingly including a heart-throb Orson Welles. This gives Jackson the opportunity to indulge in his love of fantasy, creating some dazzling hallucinatory sequences.
The fantasy element contrasts beautifully with the humdrum setting of ‘50s New Zealand, and the final tragedy is heart-breaking. The film also provided an auspicious debut for Kate Winslet, who is terrific as one of the misguided fantasists.
Genre: Drama, Fantasy
Actor: Barry Thomson, Ben Fransham, Clive Merrison, Darien Takle, Diana Kent, Elizabeth Moody, Geoffrey Heath, Gilbert Goldie, Glen Drake, Glenys Lloyd-Smith, Jed Brophy, Jesse Griffin, Kate Winslet, Liz Mullane, Lou Dobson, Melanie Lynskey, Moreen Eason, Peter Elliott, Peter Jackson, Ray Henwood, Sarah Peirse
Director: Peter Jackson
As southern movies go, Fried Green Tomatoes is inoffensively sweet and realistic—it’s not afraid to touch on the genuine issues that plagued America in the 1930s while also cushioning some blows, as feel-good movies are wont to do. But the film seems less interested in presenting a clear picture of the past than it is in telling a specific tale: that of outsiders forming bonds and making it together in an unforgiving society.
The main narrator is Ninny, an 83-year-old woman seemingly forgotten by everyone except Evelyn, an unhappy housewife who is “too young to be old and too old to be young.” Ninny recalls the stories of Sipsey and Big George, Black laborers who dared to succeed in their deeply racist community; of Smokey, the town outcast, who still helped people even if he was denied it himself; of Ruth, the domestic abuse victim; and of Idgie, the tomboy who spat on the face of all decorum. Then, of course, there’s the unspoken relationship between Ruth and Idgie, which hint at something quite radical for its time.
These are all the people conventionally denied happy endings, and in period films, you’d expect to be abandoned in tragedy. But here they sing; they win and lose in equal measure, and even though it might seem like light and familiar fare to some, it still goes down heartily and unforgettably—funnily enough, like a plate of fried green tomatoes.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Actor: Afton Smith, Bob Hannah, Carol Mitchell-Leon, Chris O'Donnell, Chris O'Donnell, Cicely Tyson, Constance Shulman, Danny Nelson, David Dwyer, Evan Lockwood, Fannie Flagg, Gailard Sartain, Gary Basaraba, Grace Zabriskie, Grayson Fricke, Haynes Brooke, Jessica Tandy, Jo Harvey Allen, Kathy Bates, Kathy Larson, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Lois Smith, Macon McCalman, Mary Stuart Masterson, Mary-Louise Parker, Nancy Moore Atchison, Nick Searcy, Raynor Scheine, Reid Binion, Richard Riehle, Stan Shaw, Suzi Bass, Ted Manson, Tim Scott, Timothy Scott, Tom Even, Wallace Merck
Director: Jon Avnet
One of the best, twistiest con movies in recent memory. Seasoned con artist Marcos takes young Juan under his wing after witnessing him pull a bill-switching scam in a deli. Soon Juan is learning the game and the two are roped into trying to pull off the largest scam in Marcos’ storied career, the selling of a set of incredibly rare stamps (the “nine queens” of the title). Along the way they will have to deal with a rotating cast of schemers, thieves, crooks -- and Marcos’ estranged sister. A superior little crime thriller, this one will have you guessing right up until the end.
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Actor: Alejandro Awada, Antonio Ugo, Carlos Lanari, Claudio Rissi, Elsa Berenguer, Ernesto Arias, Gabo Correa, Gabriel Molinelli, Gastón Pauls, Graciela Tenenbaum, Ignasi Abadal, Jorge Noya, Leo Dyzen, Leticia Brédice, Maria Mercedes Villagra, Oscar Nunez, Pochi Ducasse, Ricardo Darín, Ricardo Diaz Mourelle, Roberto Rey, Roly Serrano, Tomas Fonzi
Director: Fabián Bielinsky