Leglessbird Movie Guide

Before Sunrise (buy from Amazon)Type: Romantic, USA 1995

Director: Richard Linklater

My rating: 5
Key actors/actresses:
Ethan Hawke - Jesse
Julie Delpy - Celine

Story:
Jesse is an American student who lives in Texas, he is on a vacation in Europe and Celine is a French girl on her way back to Paris. They met by chance on a train and started a conversation, they felt there was an intense connection, a connection that most people don't even find during their entire life. Jesse is catching a plane to USA from Vienna the following morning and crazy as it might sound, he asks Celine to get off the train at Vienna and spend one day with him and they will part at sunrise. The brief encounter turns out to be much more than they have expected, what future holds for 2 people who have lived separate lives on two far apart countries until today...

My review:
I like this movie very very much, don't we all have the fantasy of meeting a complete stranger in the most unexpected circumstances who turns out to be the soul mate of our life? What seem to be two parallel lines somehow crossed by faith.

The connection of the two characters are instantly felt and the what seems to be a casual conversation shows harmony and reasonate. The dialogue is not dramatic, it is cozy and natural just like a conversation between two friends who have known each other for years. This is much more convincing than the super dramatic type of movie like the Titanic. One has to wonder if Jack and Rose (in Titanic) are really made for each other and if Jack had survived, how quickly he would have dumped Rose.

I particularly like the dialogue where they make conversation by pretending to be calling their best friend to talk about what happens in Vienna and role-play the best friend part. Exchanging their deep and honest view of each other since the moment they met on the train.

Not until too long, the loving feeling was coupled with physical desire, completing all the elements of knowing each other.

Audience can feel the sadness when the perfect couple must part and get on with their original path in life. Our hope is raised again with their promise to see each other again in 6 months' time, we are put in suspence not knowing that if they will indeed see each other again. Deep in our heart, we wish them luck and hope they will indeed see each other again, but on the other hand, we are not so sure if such brief but intense encounter is a strong enough foundation for their future life together (if any). Is it possible to put one's romance all into one night.

Also see the review of the sequel "Before Sunset".
Also see Doris's review.

Se Souvenir Des Belles Choses/Beautiful Memories (buy from Amazon)
Type: Romantic, France 2002

Director: Zabou Breitman

My rating: 4
Key actors/actresses:
Isabelle Carr? .... Claire Poussin
Bernard Campan .... Philippe
Bernard Le Coq .... Prof. Christian Licht

Posted by irene
Story:
A young lady experiences the early stage of Alzheimer's and meets her lover in a house for amnesiacs.

My review:
It's a funny and touching story. Both actor and actress play really well.

A Very Long Engagement (buy from Amazon)
Type: Drama Romantic, France 2004

Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet

My rating: 4

Key actors/actresses:
Audrey Tautou .... Mathilde
Gaspard Ulliel .... Manech
Jean-Pierre Becker .... Lieutenant Esperanza
Dominique Bettenfeld .... Ange Bassignano
Clovis Cornillac .... Beno?t Notre-Dame
Marion Cotillard .... Tina Lombardi

Posted by Dominic
Story:
During War war I, 5 French soliders were sentenced to death for self-inflicting wounds in the hope of early release from the army. Instead, they got caught and were sent to the front line, a no-man land between the German and French battlefield, unarmed and constantly in the cross-fire, they were going to die for sure. One of the 5 soliders was a young man by the name Manech who had a fianc?¦called Mathilde. After the war ended, Mathilde was determined that Manech survived and she embarked on a journey to find out what really happened and to search for Manech.

My review:
I am a big fan of Am?lie and this film was made by the same team that brought us Am?lie. The story is fairly complicated and it can be hard to follow, you really need to pay attention in order to understand it. The film has done a great job in bring back the 1910s/20s feel of France. The war scene pretty impressive.

All in all it is a good film with a complicated storyline. I won't spoil it by telling you the ending.

Type: Comedy Romantic, South Korea 1998

Director: Jeong-hyang Lee

My rating: 3
Key actors/actresses:
Eun-ha Shim .... Chun-Hi
Sung-jae Lee .... Chul-su
Sung-kee Ahn .... In-Gong

Story:
Two strangers under some unforeseen circumstances are forced to stay in the same house and they didn't get along at the beginning, but soon things began to turn for the better and love is in the air...

My review:
You guessed it, happy ending, boy and girl fell in love and lived happily thereafter...

Type: Comedy Drama Romantic SciFi Suspense, Japan 2002

Director: See below

My rating: 5

Key actors/actresses:
Directors: Daizaburo Hanada ("Opening"), J么ji Iida ("Cold Sleep"), Shunji Iwai ("Arita"), Ryuhei Kitamura ("The Messenger - Requiem for the Dead"), Rokuro Mochizuki ("Pandora - Hong Kong Leg"), Tetsuo Shinohara ("Kendama"), Yukihiko Tsutsumi ("Hijiki"), Isao Yukisada ("Justice")

Natsuko Akiyama .... ("Hijiki")
Kuranosuke Sasaki .... ("Hijiki")
Megumi Takahashi .... ('Hijiki')
Megumi Uziie .... ('Hijiki' & 'Kendama')
Masayoshi Yamazaki .... ("Kendama")
Ryoko Shinohara .... ("Kendama")
Hirofumi Arai .... ('Justice')
Haruka Ayase .... ("Justice")
Hitomi Kurihara .... ('Justice')
Akifumi Miura .... ('Justice')
Christian Storms .... ('Justice')
Satoshi Tsumabuki .... ("Justice"
Ryoko Hirosue .... ("Arita")
Kazuki Kitamura .... ("The Messenger - Requiem for the Dead")
Tak Sakaguchi .... ('The Messenger - Requiem for the Dead')
Kanae Uotani .... The messenger ('The Messenger - Requiem for the Dead')
Akaji Maro .... ("Pandora - Hong Kong Leg")
Takami Yoshimoto .... ("Pandora - Hong Kong Leg")Takao Osawa .... ("Cold Sleep")
Samuel Pop .... ('Cold Sleep')
Albert Smith .... ('Cold Sleep')
Tomomi Tsunoda .... ("Cold Sleep")
Yasutaka Tsutsui .... ('Cold Sleep')

Posted by Dominic
Story:
7 stories by 7 different directors, comedy, suspense, sci-fi, romantic, you name it. Quite fun to watch 7 short pieces.

My review:
Quite fun to watch 7 short pieces. All nicely made, since each has only about 15 mins, they have to impress the audience pretty much from the beginning. I won't spoiled you with the details of the storyline.

Crying out of Love in the Centre of the World (buy from Amazon)
Type: Drama Romantic, Japan 2004

Director: Isao Tukisada 行定勲

My rating: 5

Key actors/actresses:
Sakutaro(Today) 朔太郎...Takao Osawa 大澤隆夫
Ritsuko 律子...Kou Shibasaki 柴崎幸
Sakutaro(High school) 朔太郎...Tsutomu Yamazki 森山未來
Aki 廣瀨亞紀...Masami Nagasawa長澤正美

Story:
Sakutaro is getting married soon, one day his fiancee Ritsuko found a long lost tape that she was supposed to have given to Sakutaro 17 years ago, it is the last recording of Sakutaro's first love at high school - Aki who died 17 years ago of leukemia (blood cancer). Sakutaro has never been able to forget her but simply trying to bury his feeling. Ritsuko goes back to the home town and independently Sakutaro is doing the same, he returns to his home and went through all the tapes that he and Aki recorded for each other and their story is re-told once again.

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La Boum / La Boum 2 (3 DVD Box Set) [Non-US Format, PAL, Region 2, Import] (buy from Amazon)

Type: Drama, France 1980

Director:Claude Pinoteau

My rating: 3
Key actors/actresses:
Claude Brasseur .... Fran?ois Beretton
Brigitte Fossey .... Fran?oise Beretton
Sophie Marceau .... Vic Beretton
Denise Grey .... Poupette
Jean-Michel Dupuis .... ?tienne

Posted by Dominic
Story:
Vic is a 13 years old girl who becomes curious about boys. While her parents are so busy with their professional lives, they hardly have time to give Vic advice on romance. Also her parents are going through their own relationship crisis. Fortunately, she has a very liberal grandma on her side who is telling her all about boys!!!

My review:
This is Sophie Marceau's first movie and what a wonderful actress she has become and still going strong. La Boum is such a well known movie in France that everyone of this generation knows the sound of this movie by heart! The word La Boum refers to the type of drinks party teenages held in their house or flat and when soft music is played during the movie, you are expected to kiss someone! Thus very appropriate name for this movie which is trying to look at romance from a young teenager's view.

La Boum 2 (buy from Amazon)
Type: Drama, France 1982

Director:Claude Pinoteau

My rating: 3

Key actors/actresses:
Claude Brasseur .... Fran?ois Beretton
Brigitte Fossey .... Fran?oise Beretton
Sophie Marceau .... Vic Beretton
Lambert Wilson .... F?lix Mar?chal
Pierre Cosso .... Philippe Berthier
Alexandre Sterling .... Mathieu

Story:
Vic is now 16 years old, though she has a boyfriend, she is still very clueless about boys but even more curious. Grandma comes to the rescue again for giving her advice. Being older, she also pushes her parents' tolerence to the limit. In the meantime, her parents have also new set of relationship problem of their own...

My review:
This is the sequel to La Boum and as Vic grows older, a new set of teenagers' problem occur. La Boum 2 is also well known to the French generation of the 1970s, 1980s. It is a fun and entertaining movie with a simple story, just like the first movie. Watch out for the next one L'etudiante where Sophie Marceau plays a graduate student, love relationship problem continues...
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Jet Lag (buy from Amazon)
Type: Comedy Drama, France 2002

Director: Dani?le Thompson

My rating: 3
Buy it now:
Barnes And Noble online
Key actors/actresses:
Juliette Binoche .... Rose
Jean Reno .... F?lix

Other similar movies: La Fid?lit?, Anthony Zimmer, Swimming Pool, Needing You, l'Etudiante, more
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Country: France
Type(s): Comedy
Drama

Posted by Dominic
Story:
Paris is on strike again, so the airport service was affected. Rose and Felix didn't know each other but were both stuck at the airport as a result. Rose needed to call her mother and borrowed Felix's mobile phone, this encounter led to a development that neither of them had anticipated...

My review:
Delighted to see two of my favourite actors in one film. Jetlag is a nice story of 2 ordinary persons met by chance, seemingly total different personalities but in the end, strongly attracted to each other like magnets.

L' ?tudiante (buy from Amazon)Type: Drama, France 1988

Director: Claude Pinoteau

My rating: 3

Key actors/actresses:
Sophie Marceau .... Valentine
Vincent Lindon .... Edward
?lisabeth Vitali .... Celine
Jean-Claude Leguay .... Charly
Elena Pompei .... Patricia

Story:
Valentine is a studying to be a teacher, and she is about to focus on her final exams that is going to take place in 3 months time. She encounters a musician during skiing and just when she thinks after a one-night encounter, she can put him behind at least for 3 months, until after exmas. She is wrong, they couldn't stop seeing each other, but the relationship isn't always pleasent, they argue and cause pain to each other just like any relationship...

My review:
This film is often viewed as the sequel to La Boum 1 and 2 where Sophie Marceau played a 13 and 16 year-old girl and her encounters with boys! Now her role has matureed and is now a grown lady. These 3 movies are must-watches for many French people of this generation and the music used in the movies are all very familiar to them.

The relationship described in the movie is fairly realistic, I think Valentine is a very high maintanence character, not very fun to be with!